Agito
by amaijin
Summary: The warrior of legend awakens to help humanity in its time of need. But the evolution of an Agito is rough. Will Shouichi be able to cope with his never ending evolution and the troubling situations of the freezing world with the help of his partner? Warning Many OOC elements and very AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- The Golden Warrior**

The alarm at West Genetics sounded indicating an impending nova attack. The fourth years together with the elite numbers squad was asked to gather in the hall for their briefing. There they were informed that a new type of nova had appeared in Alaska. being the closest ones to it, the pandora of west genetics had been asked to deploy in order to combat the threat. They broke up into their individual platoons and prepared to head towards the helicopters which would take them to the battlefield. On the way, Kim Yumi, the third year in charge of the numbers squad was doing a head count and realized that one of her members was missing.

"Hey Elize where is Kazuha?" she asked her good friend a dark green haired pandora.

"She was at home when the alert was sounded so she is still making her way here now. It doesn't matter. I was told that she would join us there." Elize replied her.

"Very well then. All squad members please board the heli and be prepared for a hot drop." Kim Yumi ordered.

Aoi household.

Kazuha was in her room getting ready when her younger brother suddenly barged in. He begged for not to leave him. He told her that the others could fight without her. He began crying and in his emotional outburst he cast a strong freezing field, surprising Kazuha. Kazuha activated her pandora mode. She glowed bright blue and could now move within the freezing area. She approached Kazuya.

"Please, Kazuya. I need to go. My friends need me." She said as she hugged Kazuya.

"No! I don't want you to go nee-san. Let the others fight. I don't want to lose you. You're the only one who has ever cared for me." He spoke as he continued crying.

"Please Kazuya. I really need to go. I promise you I will return as soon as the battle is done and we can spend some time together okay?" Kazuha said soothingly.

"Really? But why do you have to go?" Kazuya continued asking. He seemed calmer now.

"Nee-san has to go. I carry the hopes of everyone on my back. I need to go to ensure humanity's future. But I promise, I will come right back home to look after you." Kazuha said. She kissed her brother on the cheek.

"Okay nee-san. But you promise to return back as soon as you can." Kazuya said. He calmed down and the freezing field disappeared.

Kazuha left the house and her brother and rushed towards West Genetics. She used what is now known as Accel in order to increase her speed so that she could get to West Genetics. When she reached there, her squad had already left to confront the nova. She was put on the next available helicopter and sent to join her squad.

The battle with the new class of nova was looking grim. Although the nova was fairly slow moving, It was a massive hulking figure. And its multiple tentacle like appendages moved quickly and could easily counter the attacking pandora. This gave it almost a 360 degree area of attack and defense. The limiters were all barely able to create freezing fields large enough to counter the new nova's own massive freezing field. To make matters worse, all the attacks that had managed to hit the nova seemed to have no effect on it whatsoever.

"Tch, this is going nowhere. We are all going to end up dead here if we don't figure something out." Kim Yumi said as she defended against the nova's attack. Even the elite numbers squad was getting their asses handed to them against this new foe. They had already lost almost half the squad since the battle began and there was little to show for all their effort and sacrifices.

"All of you fall back!" Kim yumi ordered. She did not wish to lose any more of her comrades against the nova especially with no results to show for it. She charged straight for the nova with her lance in hand. Her attack was easily swatted aside by the massive creature. It lashed out at her as she had hit the ground. She was done for. There was no way she could muster the strength to block such an attack in time. She closed her eyes and prepared to die.

"Are you crazy Kim?" Elize shouted as she fended off the nova's attack and saved her friend.

"What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to retreat!" Kim Yumi shouted.

"Sorry. I'm not too good at following orders. Besides. I'm not about to let you take all the glory by dying here alone." Elize replied.

"Very well then. It looks like you and I are destined to be together till death huh. Might as well give the nova everything we've got. Should buy headquarters enough time to come up with something." Kim Yumi said as she recovered and stood next to Elize prepared to face the monster and lay down her life.

The two of them made a valiant effort against the nova. They were an effective pair together and were able to attract the creature's attention. But their attacks still proved to be futile. No matter how many times they hit the nova, They couldn't do any damage to it. They couldn't even expose the core, much less destroy it. The fatigue was starting to set in. The nova lashed out at them. But at the last moment, the nova's attack was halted. Both Elize and Kim Yumi were shocked. Whatever that had saved them had managed to do some damage to the nova. They were both surprised when Kazuha appeared in front of them.

"So, how are the two of you holding up?" She asked her two comrades.

"We'll manage." Kim Yumi replied.

"That aside, how did you manage to find a way to damage the nova?" Elize asked.

"I was watching the battle on my way here. I found it odd at first how none of our attacks seemed to be able to contact it. Then I realized that it was because its body is oscillating on a different frequency to ours. All we have to do to hit it is to match its frequency. I need time to charge my next attack. Can the two of you distract it?" Kazuha asked.

"If you're asking us to be cannon fodder, then I think that's all we are good for right now. By the way. I expect you to teach that to us if we make it back." Kim said.

"Of course." Kazuha replied with a smile.

Kim and Elize charged straight at the nova. They distracted it as best as they could. They hit it not to damage it but to ensure that it did not try to go after Kazuha. Kazuha on the other hand stood perfectly still and began concentrating. Energy could be seen building up around her. She focused and began her attack on the nova. She easily avoided the nova's defenses and used her pandora mode to easily move when the nova cast its freezing field. She was able to land a solid hit on the nova and exposed its core. The three of them regrouped and Kazuha deactivated her pandora mode.

"That attack should have destroyed it!" Kazuha said in disbelief. She was noticeably exhausted from that attack.

"You're telling me. That was incredible. But how long do you need before you can attack it again?" Kim Yumi asked.

"At least 10 minutes. I still haven't perfected the technique yet and so the strain on my body is immense." Kazuha replied.

"10 minutes huh. I'm not sure we can last that long though. I'm starting to feel tired." Elize relied.

The three of them were exhausted from fighting the nova. There was little hope of them surviving. Then all three were distracted by the presence of another being. There was a blinding light emanating from the belt of the being. The being was in some sort of black under suit and had a golden chest plate that had a black object in the centre. It also had golden gauntlets and anklets. It had red eyes and gold horns.

"Hey who are you and what are you doing here?" Kim Yumi asked the mysterious being.

The figure kept its attention solely on the nova and ignore the questions asked by Kim. It took a fighting stance as its hors opened up and golden energy resembling a dragon crest appeared at its feet. It crouched a little as it shifted its weight between its right and left leg. It moved its right leg backwards and place all its weight on its left leg. Then the golden energy disappeared into its feet.

"What is it trying to do?" Kim Yumi asked.

"I think that it's trying to destroy the nova" Kazuha replied.

"But how? Most of the things we've tried so far have had no effect." Elize replied.

The golden figure began running toward the nova. It jumped into the air and did a flying kick aimed straight at the nova. The three pandora thought the attack wouldn't work. They were surprised when strange golden energy enveloped the being in the shape of a dragon which seemed to swallow the nova's core as the being's attack hit the nova's core and shattered it. When the nova blew-up and left a crater in its wake, The three pandora immediately rushed to where it had been. They found nothing there. The mysterious being had disappeared.

As the clean-up operation began, the three pandora were brought into a helicopter. The three had originally been heralded as the heroes of the clash since they were the only pandora who could have destroyed the nova. But everyone was surprised when they reported that the one that had in fact destroyed the nova was a mysterious being clad in golden armor. As they reached West genetics, The three pandora parted ways for their well deserved rest.

Kazuha returned to her home and was not surprised to find Kazuya there still awake waiting for her. As soon as she opened the door, Kazuya rushed to her sister in an embrace. He was glad that she had made it back alive. But he noticed that something was troubling her. He asked her what was on her mind and she told him that it was nothing. She told him that it was time to go to sleep. He asked her if he could sleep with her for the night. She agreed to it. She went to shower as Kazuya got into her bed. Before joining Kazuya, she sent a message to her grandfather about what she had seen. If there was anyone who would know what that being was, it was him. She got an immediate reply from him and he told her that he would drop by the next day to discuss what she saw. After that she went to joking Kazuya in the bed as the two of them snuggled into each other. Kazuya was already fast asleep. Kazuha was still awake, troubled by what she had seen. But she put the matter aside. She would get her answers tomorrow she thought.

The next day, Kazuya was shocked when their grandfather had arrived at their house. He was with his assistant/bodyguard Su Na Lee. In his hand was an old looking book. Kazuha on the other hand was not surprised by his visit. They got seated on the couch as Su Na Lee helped Kazuha prepare refreshments. Kazuya had been told to go play in his room because the three of them had boring matters to discuss. He refused originally but agreed when Kazuha gave him a pouty look. He could never resist doing something whatever her sister asked especially with that face.

"Now Kazuha, you're sure you saw what you did yesterday in the battle with the nova and the exact description matches?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"I'm positive. Two other members of my squad can confirm it as well." Kazuha replied.

"Very well then I guess this book finally comes in handy. I got it from an old acquaintance of mine a long time ago. But I always thought that it was a myth." Dr. Aoi said as he opened the book. It was old and the pages all looked very aged as well.

Book Contents

"In the distant past, the overlord of light was stuck in a constant battle with the overlord of darkness for humanity. The battle was a stalemate until humanity and its carnal desires empowered the darkness. But the overlord of light foresaw this and in a last ditch attempt to give humanity it's freedom, he sacrificed himself to give humanity the ability to learn and evolve. At the same time, he sealed away the darkness." This description was followed by an illustration of two similar looking man doing battle with one another. One was dressed in white and the other was dressed in black.

"In order to ensure that humanity would continue to prosper even when the darkness returned, the overlord of light imparted his power in the form of the seed of agito. When the time came, a person would arise and evolve to become an agito. A warrior powered by the overlord of light and would defend the world in its time of need." This was followed by an illustration of the exact same being that Kazuha had seen the day before.

"So you're saying that the thing I saw is this legendary warrior?" Kazuha said.

"I believe so. The description matches. I originally thought of it as just a legend a myth. But what was even more shocking was that this was originally the last page with anything on it. But when I pulled out the book yesterday after your message, this page appeared." Dr. Aoi said as he flipped the book once more.

"The warrior Agito. He channels the power of the earth itself within his being. His true power though lies not in his strength but in the ability of the seed of agito. If wiling, the warrior will continue to evolve to achieve endless possibilty." This was followed by an illustration of the golden warrior with the golden dragon emblem behind it. Its crest horns were open and there was a blue and red light surrounding the main gold one in the centre of its belt."

"So this Agito, what do we do about him?" Kazuha asked.

"First thing is that we need to find him first. I have already sent out a search party to look for him. Do you have any idea where he could have possibly gone?" Dr. Aoi replied.

"Nope. He disappeared as soon as he destroyed the nova." Kazuha responded.

"Very well then. Thanks for everything Kazuha. It was nice seeing you and Kazuya again. But I need to get back to my work. If there is anything please don't hesitate to call me. You both are my family after all. And it's great that you returned alive from the battle." Dr. Aoi said as he turned to take his leave with Su Na Lee close behind. After cleaning up, Kazuha went to go spend time with Kazuya.

Three Years Later.

There had still been no luck in locating the mysterious warrior known as Agito. All attempts had led to failure. Every lead was a dead end. Kazuha just sighed as she watched the screen on her tablet from her home. She was now a staff member at West Genetics. She had opted against serving as a on duty chevalier and chose to be on reserves instead because she wanted to be close to her brother Kazuya. She was watching over the second and first years who had been sent out on a training camp to test out their high-end skills and also practice against nova dummies.

High-end skills were the skills that she had developed for use by the pandora. It was based on the attack she had used against the nova, now classified as Type-S in the previous nova clash. She was forced into action when the alarm was given. A type-S had appeared in the vicinity where the second and first years were having their training camp. She cursed their luck. There was no way that they would survive against such a foe. She immediately got ready and rushed out of the house. As she walked out of the house, a man on a motorcycle passed her by. She noticed the symbol on the front of his motorcycle. It seemed familiar to her. Shrugging it off, she rushed to West Genetics.

As soon as she reached West Genetics, she bumped into her fellow staff members. Her ex squad mates, Yumi Kim and Elize.

"So what's happening now?" Kazuha asked.

"We're deploying with the fourth years." Kim Yumi said.

"You're deploying with squad two. They are already ready and waiting for you." Elize spoke as she directed Kazuha to one of the awaiting helicopters. It was rare for Elize to be deployed since she was the medical officer and so had to make preparations for the casualties that were sure to come.

Kazuha boarded the helicopter and gave the fourth years their orders as the helicopter left. She knew that time was of the essence if they wished to have any chance of saving the first and second years. She wondered if the nova had purposely targeted them. They were after all the future of earth's defense against the nova. It would be easy pickings for the nova, especially a type-S and it would put the program back at least a few years.

Battlefield.

The second years were all lined up in front of the nova prepared to fight it. They knew they stood little chance against it. The first years behind them were all visibly afraid of the fear. As soon as the nova had appeared in the area. Chiffon Fairchild, being the first ranked second year and therefore the overall in-charge of this exercise, had made the decision to gather all the separate platoon's together. She hoped that their numbers would at least give them a chance at survival or at least slow the nova down enough before helped arrived. She didn't know what exactly to do. She had never fought a real nova before. The orders that they had been given was to try and stay alive. She knew the first years were going to be burdens in this fight. They barely could summon their volt weapons let alone fight a nova.

"All first years and second years not willing to fight please withdraw immediately and wait for evac. Everyone else please stall the nova and try to stay alive." Chiffon ordered. Immediately the first years and some of the second years retreated.

"Are you crazy Chiffon?" You just ordered them to abandon the battlefield." Elizabeth Mably said. Her clique was behind her.

"So you think it's better they just stood there and died? I'd rather those who died did it fighting bravely rather than die from fear." Chiffon responded. Ticy backed up her response.

The second years stopped arguing and prepared to face the nova. Then suddenly a stranger arrived on a motorcycle. He got off and turned to face the nova.

"Hey you! It's dangerous here!" Chiffon shouted at the person.

The person ignored her as a belt appeared around his waist. He pressed two switches on the sides of the belt as a blinding golden light enveloped him. The pandora were all forced to shield their eyes due to the intensity of the light. When the light faded what stood there was not a man but Agito. Everyone had heard of the stories of the eighth nova clash where he had appeared and destroyed the type-S in one hit.

"It's Agito! But what is he doing here?" Chiffon wondered aloud.

Helicopter.

"Pilot can you get us there any faster?" Kazuha asked. She wanted to rush to the scene even faster now that the mysterious golden warrior had appeared once more.

"We're going as fast as we can." The pilot replied.

"Here are your new orders, we are to get Agito to follow us. Is that clear?" Kazuha told the fourth years.

"Yes. Ma'am." They replied.

Battlefield.

Agito's crest horns opened. Golden energy appeared at his feet as he began swinging his hands about in a very graceful way. He moved his right leg back and crouched downward as the golden energy dissipated into his feet. He started running toward the nova before jumping and delivering a flying kick to the monstrosity. Similar to what happened at the 8th nova clash, golden energy in the visage of a dragon enveloped him and seemed to bite down upon the nova. The nova's core was completely destroyed as Agito began calmly walking back toward his motorcycle. Kazuha Aoi who had just arrived immediately used accel to get to where he was. He turned back into human form as she asked him to stop. She had her volt weapon deployed.

"You! Stop right there. You need to come with us Agito." Kazuha said as she brandished her volt weapon.

"Whoa there miss. There is no need for hostility. And what did you just call me? My name is Shouichi Tsugami. I'll follow you to wherever you want me to go. Just don't hurt me." the male replied. The timidness in his voice was odd to Kazuha considering what he had just done.

"Very well then. Go and get aboard that helicopter." Kazuha said gesturing to the helicopter behind her. Seeing that the male would put up no resistance, she dematerialized her volt weapon.

"Wait but what about my motorcycle?" the male asked.

Kazuha sighed and asked him to load it into the helicopter and secure it in the middle. He did as he was told. All the way on the trip back, Kazuha watched the male intently. She wondered just why such a powerful warrior was such a timid person. She wondered if he was just putting on a facade. In battle, Agito had demonstrated the skills of a trained warrior. When they got back to West Genetics, Shouichi was sent to a detention centre. He was told that he would be kept there for further questioning the next day when Dr. Aoi got here. As Kazuha left the detention centre, she bumped into Kim Yumi and Elize.

"Is it true that you managed to catch Agito?" Kim yumi asked excitedly.

"Yeah. He appeared to destroy the nova. Apparently he passed my house. I recognize the motorcycle that he was riding on. It has the exact same symbol as Agito." Kazuha replied.

"What does he look like and why is he kept in a detention cell? Not a very nice impression on our saviour don't you think?" Elize replied.

Kazuha just sighed at that response. "Orders are orders. Anyway I don't know how far we can trust someone this strong. His persona is quite different in his human form though."

"Is he some sort of hunk?" Elize asked.

"Quite the opposite. He looks unimpressive and he is awfully timid.? Kazuha replied.

Her two friends left to check their guest out for themselves. Kazuha turned to leave and return back to her house and Kazuya. All their questions would be answered tomorrow she thought to herself.

The Next Day.

Shouichi Tsugami was awoken from his sleep when a group of people walked in. Among them were four women in civilian clothes, one wearing what was like a nun's outfit and a man in a researcher's coat.

"Hello my boy. What is your name?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"Shouichi Tsugami." he replied.

"Yes. And do you know what you have done?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"Not really. All I remember is that I attacked some monster then I was brought here." he replied.

"Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"I can't say anything much. I can only vividly remember what happened to me the past two and a half years. All I remember is being woken up by a man who said he knew who I was and what I was becoming. He took care of me and trained me in the use of whatever power I have now. I have no idea what it is or how I got it." Shouichi replied. The fear could be sensed in his voice.

"Don't worry. We're not going to hurt you in any way. Now I want you to read this book." Dr. Aoi said as he handed Shouichi the book that he had shown Kazuha before.

"So I am what's called an Agito?" Shouichi asked as he flipped through the book.

"Yes it seems like it." Dr. Aoi responded.

"So what is going to happen to me now? Are you going to conduct experiments on me or something?" Shouchi asked his fear returning.

"Don't worry. I guarantee that no harm will come to you. I have no intention of treating a gift from above so badly. Now tell me what do you want and why have you been fighting the nova?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"All I want to do is make friends and help people with this power of mine. I don't know why I fight with the things you call the nova but yesterday a voice commanded me to seek out the thing and destroy it." Shouchi responded.

"Very well then. Thank you for your answers. We will decide what to do with you soon." Dr. Aoi said as the group left Shouchi alone in the room where he drifted back to sleep.

The group walked outside and discussed their discovery.

"So what do you all think about him?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"He seems just like a regular honest schoolboy. Not someone one would think as wielding power from on high." Sister Margaret replied.

"I think we should get him settled into West Genetics." Kazuha said.

"Wait why would you do that?" Elize asked.

"Well for starters, it would let us keep an eye on him. I find it odd that he remembers nothing about his past. We should keep him under close watch for now. Secondly, it would enable him to make friends. He doesn't seem to have interacted with many people. Lastly, I think we need someone of his power on our side. He seems to be a simple person to keep happy on the surface at least." Kazuha responded.

"I have to agree with you there Kazuha." Kim Yumi said.

"Then it's decided. He shall join West Genetics as a second year, provided that is okay with you sister Margaret." Dr. Aoi spoke.

"That's fine. I think he will make a wonderful student." Sister Margaret replied.

"One last thing, is it possible if I request for Chiffon Fairchild to be partnered up with him?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"That can be arranged Dr. But why would you want that?" Sister Margaret asked.

"Given Chiffon's unique genetic makeup, She can't have a regular partner and a partner that can fight would be good for her. Also I would guess that should he go rogue, Chiffon is possibly the only student who can stand up to him." Dr. Aoi replied.

"Very well then. I'll arrange for it." Sister Margaret said.

"Thanks very much. Also I feel those two will get along well given their personalities." Dr. Aoi said as he turned back into the room to talk to Shouchi.

"Shouchi, my boy, I have a deal to make with you." Dr. Aoi said.

"What kind of deal?" he said obviously cautious of the Dr.

"Simple. You become a student at this academy and help us in the fight against the nova. In exchange, you get a partner and get to make many friends who won't judge you for your powers." Dr. Aoi said.

"A chance to make friends. And a partner too. I'll take it." Shouchi replied as he got up.

"Good. Kazuha will explain to you the rules of the academy and take you to your dorm room. You will meet your assigned partner tomorrow. I hope the two of you get along." Dr. Aoi replied as he gestured for Shouchi to follow Kazuha.

"Oh ya Dr., where is my motorcycle by the way?" Shouchi asked.

"It's in the hangar bay. You are not allowed to freely use it. You will know more once Kazuha explains to you the school rules. I hope you enjoy your stay here." Dr. Aoi replied.

"Just needed to know Dr. Thanks very much for this opportunity." Shouichi replied as he followed Kazuha out.

The Next Day.

Shouchi was up early the next morning. He was excited to meet his partner. He had woken up early showered and gotten dressed in the standard limiter uniform. He wasn't a big fan of the uniform though. It consisted of a tan jacket and navy blue pants and a matching tie. But he had to follow the rules. He did not want to lose such a wonderful opportunity. He had lived the past two and a half years mostly in seclusion to train. He was excited when he heard knocking on the door.

He was surprised when he was greeted by a girl in the standard pandora uniform. She had brown hair that reaches down to her shoulders, two tied up bangs covering her cheeks and two forehead bangs split up in the middle. Her eyes were narrow slits and she was smiling. He found her cute.

"Hello Tsugami-san. My name is Chiffon Fairchild. I was told that I was to be your partner. I hope we can get along." the girl spoke.

"Hi Fairchild-san. I hope we get along too. But do you mind just calling me Shouchi?" He said.

"I don't mind but only if you call me Chiffon." she replied as she lightly tapped her finger on his nose.

"Hehe of course Chiffon. so what are we doing today?" Shouichi asked.

"Well since it's your first day how about I take you on a tour of the school? Along the way maybe we can tell each other more about ourselves." Chiffon said cheerfully as she dragged Shouichi along by his arm.

The two of them walked throughout the halls of West Genetics and they talked about each other. Chiffon was surprised to hear that Shouichi did not know his true origins.

"So you really don't remember anything about your past? Like your family?" Chiffon asked as they sat down on a park bench." Chiffon asked.

"Nope I don't remember anything. My teacher found me and took care of me. I don't even know what his name is. For the two years that I was with him I felt like I had a father. But then he sent me away saying that I had to go and find my true purpose, leaving me alone again. I feel so alone." Shouchi said.

"It's okay now Shouichi. You're not alone now. I am your partner after all." Chiffon said as she gave Shouichi a loving hug. He felt warmth in her embrace. For once, he no longer felt like he was alone. They broke their embrace and decided to continue the tour of the school. By the time it was dark, they had barely managed to finish touring the school. Before parting ways, Chiffon went through the schedule with Shouchi and found that she shared classes with him. She was pleased to know this and told him that she would meet him at his dorm room tomorrow to bring him to class. He thanked her as they parted ways. He hit the bed. A whole day of walking around was exhausting. As he drifted off to sleep he felt happy. He had been partnered with someone as nice as Chiffon.

Chiffon returned to her room and greeted her room-mate Ticy.

"So Chiffon how was your partner?" Ticy asked jokingly.

"He seems nice. Although I feel sorry for him. He can't remember anything about his past. I think we both will get along fine." Chiffon responded as she disengaged her volt texture and jumped onto the bed.

"Well at least you finally have a partner." Ticy replied.

Teasing Chiffon for not having a limiter was always hilarious. Chiffon was nice to everyone but very few people felt that she was worth considering in a serious relationship. Granted this was more of the nature of the erinbar set than anything else. Pandora and their limiters were often more than just battle partners.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2-Blossoming Relationship**

Shouchi woke up and got ready for his first school day at West Genetics. He got all his books ready in his bag and slung it across his shoulder. Then the bell to his room rang. "Come on in. It's not locked." He said. Chiffon calmly opened the door and walked into his room.

"You don't lock the door?" Chiffon asked.

"Why should I? I was expecting my partner to come by after all. And I do trust my partner." He said.

His statement made Chiffon blush a little. Then noticing the time she grabbed his hand and led him through the hallways. Everyone was surprised to see the new student with Chiffon. They had all joked that she would never be able to find a partner with her attitude. Rumors were flying across the halls on who this new guy was. They rushed to their class. Shouichi was surprised to find that the teacher for their first class was Kazuha Aoi. She was the one who had briefed him about life at West Genetics and some of the rules.

He was asked to introduce himself to the rest of the class and he did. He then proceeded to take a seat next to Chiffon. He took out a notebook so that he could take notes. It was an old habit that his teacher had thought him. By the time his classes were done though he looked like he was about ready to slam his head into the table and rip out his hair. The concepts were all so confusing. Why couldn't he just hit everything with force and skill like he usually did. He wondered why everything seemed so overly complex. To make matters worse, he was informed that there would be a basic test next week. Since it was still the first term of the new school year, there would be a test which would in the words of Kazuha 'refresh their memory' on the basics of limiters and pandora. His thoughts were interrupted by someone prodding his cheek.

"What's the matter Shouichi? Why do you look so glum?" Chiffon asked with her head tilted off to one side.

"Why is everything so confusing? And a test next week? I'm so going to flunk it." Shouichi replied as he put his head back into the table.

"Aww come on. Don't be so glum. I'll help you study for the test okay. So don't look so glum anymore. It's not good for you." Chiffon said as she got behind Shouichi and started playfully pinching his cheeks in a vague attempt to get him to smile.

"Really? Thanks Chiffon. I appreciate it." Shouichi replied after managing to get Chiffon to stop whatever it is she was attempting to do.

"Of course silly. We're partners and that means we look out for each other. Now come on. It's time for lunch already." Chiffon said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"Oh ya. Let's go." Shouichi said as he was now back to his cheerful self. He let himself be dragged by Chiffon to the cafeteria. When he got there he was still awestruck by what was available. The spread was comparable to even the highest end buffets that he had ever been to. He found it hilarious how the military academy was more like a five star hotel. But he was also overwhelmed by the selection. He chose to grab a meal from the fast food place. Chiffon on the other hand grabbed some noodles. Seeing that the cafeteria was crowded, the pair decided to eat at the roof.

The pair enjoyed the lunch on the roof in silence. They were content just to enjoy each other's company. As soon as they had finished their lunch, they had a short little chat. Chiffon asked Shouichi how he found West Genetics thus far. She was pleased that he enjoyed being surrounded by people and hoped to be able to make many friends. She blushed a little bit when he told her how much he enjoyed her company. The two had a short nap since there was still quite some time before the next class.

The two of them woke up when another pandora made her way to the roof and approached them. Chiffon pouted because her nap was interrupted. Shouichi noticed this and laughed a little. She frowned when she realized who the other pandora was. Shouichi was still a little drowsy but he just smiled at the other pandora. She had blue hair that was cut short and had a very sizeable bust. Behind her were three other students , presumably her limiters.

The other pandora gave a sultry grin to Shouichi and said, "My name is Miyabi Kannazuki and I want you to be my limiter?"

"What? Why? You already have three. Besides I already have Chiffon as my partner." Shouichi spoke. Chiffon just giggled at this and proceeded to lead Shouichi to the exit.

Miyabi grabs Shouichi's other hand to stop the two from leaving. "I don't take no for an answer. And besides, I am sure I can satisfy you better with my body than ms. Fairchild could ever hope too." She said seductively.

Hearing this made Chiffon really angry and she turned to face Miyabi. "Miyabi, Shouichi is my partner. If you try to take him away from me I will stop you." She said. There was a scary aura around her threat.

Miyabi let go of Shouichi's hand. Shouichi immediately stopped the angry Chiffon from doing anything rash by pushing her toward the exit. "Now, now Chiffon we better get going. We are going to be late for class." He said as he led his partner down the exit and left Miyabi there stunned.

"Tch. I want him. Chiffon must not have a partner and I shall guarantee it." Miyabi said.

"Are you sure you want to try again Ms Miyabi? Chiffon seemed very serious about her threat. And he seemed to be able to resist your charm." One of her limiters said.

"All I have to do is try a little harder. Besides, if I manage to take her partner away from her it would probably break her so badly that she won't be able to fight anymore." Miyabi said as she let out a sinister laugh.

"Thanks for stopping me from doing anything stupid Shouichi." Chiffon said as the two walked toward their class.

"Hey no problem. That's why I am your partner right? We look out for each other." Shouichi replied with a smile.

Chiffon felt grateful to have such a caring partner. Even though they had recently just met, she felt like they were almost made for each other. She gave him a hug before they continued walking toward their class. After class Shouichi again felt depressed. There was so much stuff that he had to try to cram into his brain that he just felt like giving up. He only had the weekend to study for the test. He just sighed and put his head down on the table in defeat. Class was done for the week. He had joined the school on a Friday after all.

He looked up to see Chiffon staring at him with a smile on her face. He smiled back and he got up and walked her back to her dorm room.

"Hey don't be so glum about your studies okay? I'll help you revise the stuff for the test. Let's meet for breakfast tomorrow then go to the library?" Chiffon said as they reached her room.

"Okay then thanks Chiffon." Shouichi said as he turned to leave.

"Of course. Partners look out for each other right?" Chiffon said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. He blushed a little as he turned to leave. He rubbed against the spot where she had kissed him delightfully.

As he was walking back towards his dorm room, his path was stopped by three limiters. He recognized them as Miyabi's limiters from their confrontation on the roof earlier.

"Hey there guys. I think we got off on the wrong foot earlier today. Do you think we can still be friends? After all we are comrades in this war." Shouichi said smiling at them.

"As much as we hate you, we have orders to make sure you submit to Ms. Miyabi. She has given us permission to hurt you if we like?" One of them said.

"Whoa there. Isn't fighting not allowed here? Why don't we just discuss this in a civil manner. There is no need for violence amongst comrades now is there?" Shouichi said as he tried to back away.

Two of the three limiters charged at him and held his arms, preventing him from going anywhere. The third one now approached him and began cracking his knuckles.

"We can finish this quickly if you want. All you have to do is submit." The limiter spoke.

"No I won't. There is no way I am betraying Chiffon for someone as cowardly as Miyabi." Shouichi responded.

"Very well then. This will be fun." The limiter said as he started to beat up Shouichi.

"Why don't you just submit already? We've been torturing you for the last 10 minutes. Just give up and end this already." The limiter said.

"Well then it looks like violence won't get through to him. So how about I claim his heart then?" Miyabi spoke in a sultry voice as she appeared.

"Ms. Miyabi, he is all yours." The limiter who had been hitting Shouichi bowed and moved out of the way. The other two were still holding his arms. Miyabi stood face to face with Shouichi.

"I'll give you one last chance my dear boy. Submit willingly or be forced to become my pet?" She said as she inched closer to him.

"Stop right there Miyabi! What do you think you are doing to my partner?" Chiffon shouted as she arrived there. She had been told by one of the first years that Shouichi was involved in some sort of fight and so she rushed out to find him. She was not expecting to find Miyabi involved.

"I thought I told you to stay away from him?" Chiffon said.

"Oho and what are you going to do about it Ms. Fairchild? Are you going to fight me? You know fighting between pandora will get you in trouble?" Miyabi replied with a chuckle.

As much as Chiffon hated to admit it, she knew Miyabi was right. She would get into trouble if you interfere.

"Hey Chiffon just relax. Nothing's going to happen. What's the worse she can do to me? Hit me more times?" Shouichi said jokingly.

"No I can do this to you!" Miyabi said as she pressed her body against Shouichi and wrapped her leg around his waist.

"No please don't do it to him. He is my partner after all. Please Miyabi. I beg you. Just stop it now. I'll do anything." Chiffon said as she slumped down in defeat a tear rolling down her eye.

"This is excellent! I get to defeat the smiling monster and I get a new toy as well." Miyabi shouted in glee as she stepped back from Shouichi.

"You... made my partner cry. That I cannot forgive. Don't you ever mistake my kindness and civility as a weakness again!" Shouichi shouted. He slammed both of the limiters that were pinning him down into each other knocking them out. The third one charged at him but he was easily dispatched with a punch to the jaw.

"You how dare you... I'm gonna hurt you so badly that even Chiffon wouldn't want you anymore." Miyabi shouted as she deployed her volt weapon.

"Fighting between pandora is forbidden but if a limiter fights you... Well that's a whole other case altogether. Henshin!" Shouichi said as a belt appeared on his waist. He hit both switches on the sides of the belt and was enveloped in a golden light. When the light subsided he had transformed into Agito.

"Wait, you're not a regular limiter. You're Agito!" Miyabi said as she charged at Shouichi.

Shouichi just remained silent and took a combat stance and prepared to stop Miyabi's attack. Chiffon saw this and thought that for someone as tame as Shouichi, his fighting style was nearly flawless. His stance had zero openings. Miyabi came in for an attack but he just punched aside her hands and delivered two swift blows to her abdomen. Before she had a chance to get up, he struck various nerve points on her, leaving her stunned momentarily. He turned and walked toward Chiffon as he turned back to normal.

"I'm sorry they made you cry. I won't let anyone make you cry ever again. I promise." Shouichi said as he picked up Chiffon and hugged her.

"Don't you ever make me worry like that again." she said.

"Of course not. So are we still on for our study date tomorrow?" Shouichi asked

"Of course. Now this time I think I'd better make sure to take you back to your dorm room." Chiffon said as she grabbed Shouichi's arm and led him back to his room.

The next day Shouichi woke up and got dressed as usual and joined Chiffon in the mess hall. After eating their breakfast together, the two headed over to the library where Chiffon went through the basics of pandora, limiters and nova. Shouichi tried his best to stay focused but the information overload caused his brain to shut down and he just slammed his head into the table as usual.

"Aww come on, Shouichi. Try a little harder. There isn't much for you to study once you understand the basic concepts." Chiffon said smiling.

"Sigh. It's just too much. I need a break. We've been at this for the past two hours." Shouichi said.

"Fine. Fine you can go take a break but come back soon okay?" Chiffon said.

Shouichi immediately dashed out of the library as Chiffon just shook her head wondering what to do with him. Shouichi went up to the roof and just lay back and stared at the sky. He always hated learning. Even with his old teacher in the past he would often sneak out to hide from having to do any form of training. It was a wonder that he got anywhere. He held a little twig and was twirling it around. He watched it with interest. To anyone it would seem that he was just wasting time. But in actual fact he was 'training'. He always found that the best way to solve problems was to think about something else or think of the situation in a different light and so that was exactly what he was doing now. But he began to get bored and eventually fell asleep. He was awoken by someone calling his name.

"Shouichi! There you are. I've been looking all over for you." Chiffon shouted as she ran towards him. There was a look of concern on her face.

"Hey Chiffon. What's up?" He replied as he got up.

"What's up? You disappeared for an hour. You were supposed to only be gone for a short break!" She huffed at him.

"Sorry. I must have dozed off." He said.

"Well then it's time to go for lunch now you bad boy!" as Chiffon said those words she pulled him by his ear towards the mess hall.

"Oww... That hurts Chiffon. Can you please let go?" Shouichi begged.

"That's what you get for skipping out without telling me. Now hurry up and get your lunch so that we can get back to helping you prepare for next week's test." Chiffon said after letting go of Shouichi.

"Yes mom." Shouichi said jokingly.

"What did you just say?" Chiffon turned after him.

"Sorry. Sorry. Just a joke that's all." Shouichi replied fearfully as he hid behind some chairs prepared for Chiffon to lash out at him.

Chiffon just sighed and went to grab her food. Seeing that nothing bad was going to happen to him, Shouichi went to go buy some food from the burger queen. He joined Chiffon at an empty table and received many stares from the other students present. Many of them were happily joking that the smiling monster had found a partner perfectly suited to her.

"I don't get why we need to have a test so early in the year." Shouichi said as he took a handful of fries and shoved them into his mouth.

"It's good to know where everyone is with their progress. That aside why do you keep eating fast food? It's bad for you, you know." Chiffon said frowning.

"I'll exercise it off or something. Eating fast food always comforts me when I'm worked up." Shouichi replied with through a mouthful of food. His words were barely decipherable.

"That just won't do. You should just half whatever you're going to eat!" Chiffon said. Her next action shocked him. She got near to him and brought her lip on his and bit of the half of the fries that were sticking out of his mouth. She happily ate them as he finished swallowing the remaining food in his mouth.

"Fine. Fine, I get it. Why are you so worried about me?" Shouichi said as he pushed the bag of food away.

"Well you are my partner after all and we did promise to look out for each other right?" Chiffon replied cheerfully.

"Thanks. I appreciate it. No one's ever shown this much care to me before. But you know worrying and frowning so much is going to make you have wrinkles and spoil that pretty face of yours." Shouichi replied.

Chiffon blushed a little at his comment before realizing that he was making a bad joke again. "You know girls don't like it when you make jokes about their appearances." Chiffon said as she pinched his hand making him wince in pain. "For that I expect you to plan something special for the two of us to do tomorrow."

"Fine. Fine. I owe one after all for helping me study for the test. How about a picnic tomorrow? I'll prepare the food." Shouichi replied.

"That sounds like fun. It's a date then." Chiffon said cheerfully. The two of them left the mess hall to return back to the library to finish studying for the upcoming test.

The picnic was a simple one. The pair just went over to the school park lay out a mat and enjoyed wonderful food and a beautiful sunset.

"Wow. This food's really amazing Shouichi. Where did you learn to cook?" Chiffon said as she ate the food that had been prepared specially for her.

"Well I worked at an inn for some time before the last nova clash. Also my old teacher thought me the importance of cooking well. He always said that bad food lead to bad fights." Shouichi replied jokingly.

"Seriously? That's a pretty funny sentiment." Chiffon replied giggling. She just lied down on the mat enjoying the setting sun.

"Yeah. But teacher was pretty scary during training. But anyway thanks for everything Chiffon. Thanks most of all for agreeing to become my partner." Shouichi said.

"It's no problem Shouichi. After all you agreed to become mine too. And even though we've been together for such a short time, it feels like we share a special bond." Chiffon replied as she sat up and turned to face Shouichi.

The two looked at each other for some time. Then Chiffon leaned in to kiss Shouichi as the two were in a deep embrace. Their bond as partners was now fully cemented. Not to mention their relationship status. As they looked into the setting sun, the two agreed to protect one another with their lives.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3-Flame &amp; Storm**

**1 Year Passes**

Shouichi got up from the bed and looked at the time. He hurriedly got out of bed and went to get ready. Today was the second years carnival and so the other years had the day off to either watch the carnival or prepare their own one. Being a 'limiter' meant that he basically had the days off to do absolutely nothing. But today Chiffon said she was welcoming a new student and had insisted that Shouichi follow her as well. Shouichi enjoyed meeting new people but dreaded having to do stuff. He was a lazy bum of sorts.

The past year had been great for him. Few if any knew of his true power and everyone was just surprised that Chiffon had a 'limiter'. It was even more surprising that her limiter was of the same year as her. Usually limiters were at least a year younger than their pandora. Shouichi had made many friends with the second years. The first one he befriended and was introduced to was Chiffon's room-mate Ticy Phenyl. She was a really shy girl but had a wonderful personality nonetheless. He then made friends with Elizabeth Mably and her clique. Though he did not get off to a good start with Ingrid for some reason.

He walked out to the helipad and greeted people along the way. Many people had knew him now or at least had heard of him. Not a surprising fact given that he was the #1 pandora and student council president's partner. But many people liked him for his easygoing disposition and light hearted character. Many people remarked that both him and Chiffon had very similar personalities. Some even joked that the two airheads were made for each other. When he got to the helipad, he met with Ticy and Kazuha. Ticy was there as her duties as the student council vice-president. Kazuha on the other hand was here because the new student was her younger brother, Kazuya Aoi.

The helicopter lands and a teenage boy wearing the same uniform as Shouichi walks out followed closely behind by Chiffon.

"Nee-san! It's nice to see you again." the boy said to Kazuha.

"Yes Kazuya. You are now part of this academy where I was once a student. Anyway, I need to get back to my work now. We'll catch up again later tonight. Have fun on your tour." Kazuha said with a smile as she rushed back to the command centre to observe the second year carnival.

"Well then Kazuya, let me introduce you to the other two. This is Ticy Phenyl, my room-mate. She is also the student council vice president. You'll see her around quite often. And this is my partner, Shouichi Tsugami." Chiffon said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Shouichi-sempai, Ticy-sempai. I hope we can be friends." The boy said as he bowed to his two seniors.

"I'm sure we will be getting along just fine. But do you mind just calling me Shouichi?" Shouichi replied to Kazuya.

"Sure." Kazuya replied.

"So Chiffon how was your little excursion?" Ticy asked.

"I had fun. I just went through some of the basics with Kazuya." Chiffon replied with her usual smile.

"Heh. The basics huh, I remember you going through that with me a year ago when I joined here. You should learn them well Kazuya. Who knows they might come up in a test soon." Shouichi said.

"Huh? A test? But I just joined here." Kazuya said worriedly.

"Oh relax Kazuya. Shouichi's just joking. He likes making inappropriate jokes." Chiffon said as she jabbed Shouichi in his sides.

"Anyway shall we begin the tour of West Genetics?" Ticy said.

The four of them then walked around the West Genetics campus. The two girls told Kazuya all about the various facilities. Kazuya was surprised at the facilities available. He was even more surprised by the sheer size of the academy. He had asked his guides on why the academy had to be so large. They told him that it was because the buildings had to be spaced out enough to minimize the risk of destruction during carnivals or when fights broke out. Kazuya had spent much of his time talking with Shouichi on what it was like to be a limiter at West Genetics. He also talked to Shouichi about how to find the partner.

"Well, finding a pandora partner is like finding a girlfriend. You have to find the right one. Just give it time. You'll find the right partner eventually." Shouichi said.

"I see. How did you and Chiffon-sempai become partners then? Also what is it like being her limiter?" Kazuya asked.

"Well we met by accident and we just hit it off. And as they say, the rest is history. Well being Chiffon's limiter is fun cos Chiffon is such a fun person. But to be honest we spend very little time actually training. I don't get why everyone calls us the best limiter and pandora pair. I would think that such a title belongs to Elizabeth and her partner Andre. They spend so much time training. But I guess that's what happens when your pandora is the unmatched smiling monster I guess." Shouichi replayed playfully. He knew his comment was making Chiffon blushed. He liked to tease her a lot.

"Well then anyway shall we continue on with our tour?" Chiffon said trying to break apart their conversation.

Just as the four of them were about to continue the tour they were stopped by an explosion. Immediately the four of them hit the ground as two pandora one with red hair and a ponytail and a blond one with a sizeable bust appeared.

"What's happening sempai?" Kazuya asked confused.

"Oh today is the second year carnival." Shouichi replied.

The four of them got up to watch the battle between the two pandora. The blond one was unharmed while the redhead's uniform was in tatters. The two pandora charged at each other again. The redhead had several chain flails coming from her back while the blond one had a large mid handled blade in her right hand.

"Wow. Those two are incredible. Who are they?" Kazuya asked.

"The redhead is Ganessa Roland. She is the second ranked second year and is known as the angel of confinement. The blonde one is Satellizer El Bridget. She is the first ranked second year and is known as the untouchable queen." Chiffon replied.

"Those two have been going at it at every carnival as far as I can remember." Shouichi said.

"Although Satellizer has always won thus far." Ticy said this time as the four of them got up and prepared to walk away.

"Why is Satellizer called the untouchable queen by the way?" Kazuya asked.

"Well that's because of three reasons. Firstly she has managed to remain the first ranked pandora in her year with no one coming close to matching her. Secondly she usually finishes carnivals without a scratch and lastly she hates being touched and anyone who touches her gets a trip to the infirmary." Chiffon replied.

"She's pretty harsh although I think it might have something to do with her past. Her cold exterior has also made her very lonely." Shouichi said.

"Hey she is one of the few second years without a limiter. Maybe you should try talking to her." Shouichi said.

"Shouichi! How could you even suggest that? Are you trying to get Kazuya injured?" Chiffon said as she hit Shouichi on the head for the suggestion.

"Oww. That hurt. Hey I only suggested it because Kazuya can do a freezing without being baptized. I hear the main reason why Satellizer doesn't want a limiter is because she doesn't like the erinbar set." Shouichi responded defending his earlier comment.

"Wait he did a freezing? When did that happen?" Ticy asked.

"When we hit the ground to avoid the explosion. It was only for a split second though." Shouichi responded.

The four of them continued walking through the hallway. Eventually they reached Kazuya's dorm room and Chiffon handed him the keys as well as his schedule for classes. He thanked his guides as they left. Kazuha appeared obviously here to catch up with her little brother. Before Shouichi left he spoke to Kauzya such that only he could hear him.

"I still stand by my original suggestion. I think it would be awesome if you tried to get through to Satellizer. Who knows maybe your warm heart will melt through her cold walls." Shouichi said. Then he turned to leave Kazuya and Kazuha with some privacy.

Days Later.

Shouichi was walking through the hallways with Chiffon when suddenly Kaho Hiragi the class representative of the first years ran up to them with a fellow classmate named Arthur Crypton. They were both out of breath.

"Ms. President, we have a situation." Kaho said.

Sensing the direness of the situation Chiffon rushed to follow the two first years to where the situation was while Shouichi went to find some staff members. The three of them reached the rooftop where they saw Satellizer standing over a beaten and bruised Miyabi. Her blade was poised to strike the girl. Miyabi's limiters were all on the floor, their phones destroyed. Kazuya was behind Satellizer and pleading for the blonde pandora to stop.

"Disengage your volt weapon and step away from Ms. Miyabi this instant. That is a presidential order." Chiffon shouted to Satellizer. She knew exactly what had happened. Kazuya was probably asking to be Satellizer's limiter when Miyabi stepped in did her usual stunt. She wasn't called the limiter glutton for nothing. Although inside she wanted Satellizer to crush Miyabi because of her exact stunt a year ago to Shouichi.

The enraged Satellizer turned to face the president. Despite being the #1 pandora, Chiffon backed down and hid behind Kaho and pleaded for Satellizer to stop. Satellizer ignored her pleas and turned back to face Miyabi. Her blade inching closer to the other pandora. Just then the roof door burst open and Kazuha and Kim Yumi appeared with Shouichi close behind. They ordered Satellizer to stop and prepared to deploy their own volt weapons against her. She still refused to stop.

Then suddenly Kazuya tackled Satellizer and cast a large freezing field. This caused her to stop and return to her senses. Everyone was worried for Kazuya as he had just touched the untouchable queen. But they were all surprised when Satellizer just blushed and pushed him off as he got up. Satellizer was told that she would be put in detention for fighting and that Miyabi would receive the same punishment as well.

Kazuya tried to defend Satellizer but she told him that it was fine and actually thanked him for helping her. She also told her to meet her at her room once she was released. This came to the shock of everyone. Kazuha was especially concerned since Kazuya was her little brother after all. With the situation fixed, the people dispersed. Chiffon walked away with Shouichi.

"Hahahaha. You were so scared of Satellizer. You just shrunk way as soon as she gave you her death stare. Great job Ms. #1 pandora." Shouichi said while poking Chiffon's shoulder and laughing uncontrollably.

" Grr.. You try standing up to her then you annoying brat." Chiffon said as she hit Shouichi in the head and sent him to the ground.

"Ouch. Hey there is no need to over-react now is there?" Shouichi said as he rubbed his head where Chiffon had hit him.

"Hmph. Serves you right. You owe me a date for that." Chiffon said as she huffed angrily and stormed off.

"Oh boy what have I just gotten myself into?" Shouichi said. He sighed and shouted to her, "I'll pick you up at eight tonight." She just ignored him and continued walking through the halls.

That night he went to Chiffon's dorm room. He had a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He knocked on the door and Chiffon opened it. He knelt down in the halls and presented her with the flowers and apologized for his behavior earlier today. She beamed at the flowers and happily accepted them. Then he led her through the halls for a picnic under the stars. They sat down in the school park enjoying the food that he had prepared. Then he revealed to her something that he had prepared especially for her.

"Hey Chiffon, I have a surprise for you." Shouichi said as he pulled out a box from the basket.

"What is it Shouichi?" She asked.

"It's your favorite desert." Shouichi said as he opened the box and revealed its contents to be a Chiffon cake.

The two of them enjoyed the cake together. Shouichi was delighted to see his partner enjoy his cooking so much. He had spent most of the day after she stormed off figuring out how to make Chiffon happy and so he decided to bake her favorite desert for their picnic. Then he pulled out a box that contained a necklace with a stylized C on it.

"This is to mark our first anniversary as partners." He said as he asked Chiffon to turn around so he could help her put it on. She did not notice the mischievous glint in his eyes as he dropped the necklace and his hands went to her collarbone- her most sensitive spot. He started tickling her and she burst out laughing.

"Shouichi...please...stop...I can't breathe..." Chiffon said in between laughing.

"Nope. I wanna see how long you can last." Shouichi said as he continued tickling her.

When he finally stopped and she regained her composure she huffed at him and turned away. He just laughed a little at her reaction before pulling her in for a kiss. She was resistant at first but eventually gave in as she wrapped one hand behind his head and another around his neck. She was surprised when the next thing he did was to carry her bridal style back to his room. He then set her down on his bed.

He pushed her onto the bed and kissed her again, his hands exploring her body. She was blushing even harder now.

"You look so cute Chiffon." Shouichi said smiling.

"You're so mean always teasing me all the time and being so pushy." Chiffon said.

"Hey if you wanna stop I don't really care." Shouichi said.

"Wait no. I want to continue." Chiffon said embarrassed.

Shouichi followed his partner's wishes and continued kissing and teasing her. Then he stopped again. But she knew what he wanted and she wanted the same. So she deactivated her volt texture leaving her in her underwear while Shouichi took off his clothes. He began teasing her whole body. She felt the pleasure coursing throughout her body as her underwear became damp. She felt his hand roam down to her special place.

"Oho your underwear is this damp already? Aren't you a naughty little pandora." Shouichi said as he teased her special place causing her to moan.

"Enough teasing me will you. You know what I want." Chiffon said as she pinched Shouichi's abdomen.

Shouichi got up and proceeded to take off his underwear as he revealed his stiff member to her. Then he placed himself at her entrance and she nodded to allow him to continue. He entered her and she felt both pain and pleasure course throughout her body. He waited for her to allow him to continue as he began moving inside of her. Slowly at first then the pace gradually increasing as the two of them reached their climax. Satisfied the two of them hugged each other and drifted off to sleep.

"Now no one can take you away from me." Chiffon said.

"And no one can question our partnership." Shouichi said as the two of them kissed.

A Week Later.

Chiffon and Shouichi were enjoying another picnic together when Ticy rushed over to the two of them saying that there was an urgent matter that required Chiffon's attention. Shouichi decided to tag along. Ticy led them to the training arena. They heard noises inside the arena and wondered who could that be. They walked in to see Arnett, Creo and Attia fighting against Satellizer and Rana. Kazuya was knocked out in a corner of the stadium. Shouichi knew exactly what was going on. The third years wanted revenge on Satellizer for attacking Miyabi. Ingrid had already attacked Satellizer a few days ago. But Kazuya had interfered and cast a freezing area to help Satellizer. Both sides had injuries with the exception of Attia. Although the most injured was Satellizer.

"I order you all to stop. You know that fighting is against the school rules!" Chiffon shouted at the group to stop fighting.

"I don't care about the school rules right now. Those two are going down!" Arnett shouted as she charged at Satellizer and Rana with her scythe in hand.

"Please listen to the president." Ticy said as she deployed her volt weapon and blocked Arnett's attack.

"Not you too Ticy. If you get in my way you're gonna get cut." Arnett said as she prepared to attack Ticy.

Chiffon then jumped in and used her illusion turn to get behind Arnett and knocked her out in one attack. It did not even look like she moved at all. Everyone stood shocked at what had just happened. This power was why Chiffon was the undisputed #1 in their year.

"So do you wish to continue?" Chiffon asked Attia and Creo.

"Fine. We will stop." Attia said. Creo went over to pick up the defeated Arnett as the third years left.

"Satellizer, please make sure Kazuya gets taken to the infirmary." Chiffon said.

"Right." Satellizer replied.

"Oh do not worry Ms. Chiffon I will ensure that Kazuya is taken to the infirmary with haste." Rana said.

"Well alright then." Chiffon turned and left with Shouichi and Ticy.

"I think you might wanna go have a chat with Elizabeth and get her to call off the third years. This doesn't bode well for us at all. Not only is it destroying our reputation but it's undesirable for allies to be so preoccupied with fighting one another. It may not be long before our days of peace finally come to an end." Shouichi commented to Chiffon.

"Alright then I'll go and speak with her now. I think she should be at the pool. Ticy will you follow me?" Chiffon said as she and Ticy headed towards the pool and Shouichi went back to his room.

1 week later

Chiffon had managed to convince Elizabeth that it was not worth it to continue the hostilities with Satellizer. Her little talk had worked and for the past week there had been no reports of any fighting between pandora. In addition, Kazuya seemed to be the object of affection for both Rana and Satellizer. Chiffon, Shouichi and Ticy watched the celebrations from an upper room. Today was the pandora queen event. A yearly beauty pageant for pandora to be voted the most beautiful one. The three of them joined Kim Yumi, Elize and Kazuha from afar.

"Sister Margaret won't be joining us for this evening's celebrations?" Chiffon asked.

"No she won't. She went off to Chevalier Headquarters for a meeting regarding the increased dimensional flux activity." Kim Yumi replied.

"Are more nova coming?" Ticy asked.

"We're not too sure of it yet." Kazuha responded.

"Hey let's all enjoy ourselves for the night shall we. After all this is supposed to be all about fun, laughter, peace and joy." Shouichi said as he popped up wearing a clown mask and scaring everyone.

"That was not necessary." Chiffon said as she hit him on the head.

"I don't get how you even put up with him Chiffon." Elize remarked.

A few days later at night.

Chiffon just sat down with Shouichi, Ticy and Abel for dinner when the alarm sounded indicating the appearance of nova. They waited for the announcement and were surprised when it said that four Type-S nova had appeared off the coast of Yokohama Beach. The forces of East Genetics had been deployed and additional assistance from West Genetics was sent as well in the form of three fourth year platoons. The screens everywhere shifted to provide live updates and video feeds of the coming battle. Shouichi was seated near the window and was calmly eating his food.

"Woah how can you be so calm at a time like this Shouichi?" Abel asked.

"Why should I be worried? I am not deployed and I am sure the fourth years and East Genetics pandora can look after themselves." Shouichi said calmly.

"But still we are talking about four type-S nova here." Ticy said.

"Relax Ticy. If it does involve us then we will care about the matter. For now just enjoy your dinner." Chiffon said.

Just then everyone stopped eating when the screen played a video of the nova using its new weapon against the East Genetics Pandora. It was a particle beam. And in one strike it had decimated many of the East Genetics pandora. By now, additional forces from both the Chevalier and West Genetics had arrived to lend a hand in the fight. Their combined efforts managed to destroy two of the nova.

Shouichi looked out the window and saw Satellizer with Kazuya. He was surprised Rana wasn't around. He could feel the disappointment Satellizer felt at not being able to do anything about the situation. Chiffon noticed her partner being distracted by something.

"Hey Shouichi what's on your mind?" Chiffon asked as she began poking his face to snap him out of his trance.

"Huh. Oh it's just that I think many of them are starting to feel depressed because they can't help the situation." Shouichi replied as he turned back his attention to the screen about the ongoing battle. He dropped his fork when he saw that the nova had begun assimilating pandora and corrupting the volt texture. Then the two nova pulled back to the sea and disappeared.

"Where did the two nova go to?" Ticy wondered.

"Hmm. Interesting." Shouichi said.

"Shouldn't you be showing a bit more concern for the situation? We just lost so many pandora including Cassie Lockheart the #5 pandora world wide!" Abel said.

"I am concerned. Isn't that right Chiffon?" Shouichi said as he began playing with his food after picking up his fork again.

"Just what are you thinking about Shouichi?" Chiffon asked as she watched her partner divide his food into distinct groups.

"When the king sees his allies in trouble he will send out his pawns to fight in his place but a smart opponent would use this ruse to attack theweakened defenses and take the distracted king by surprise." Shouichi said.

"What do you mean by that?" Ticy asked.

"He means that the initial attack was a ruse to draw out the bulk of the forces and leave us defenseless. Their real target is West Genetics. Is that right Shouichi?" Chiffon asked.

"That's my hunch based on what I've seen and heard so far." Shouichi said leaning back and closing his eyes. He opened his right eye when he heard the announcement that the two Type-S had appeared near West Genetics. "And it looks like I am right. Let's get going." He said as he got up and helped Chiffon up as well. The four of them proceeded to get ready.

They gathered in the mission room as Kim Yumi now dressed in her chevalier uniform addressed them. Behind her was Kazuha and Elize. Both of them were also wearing their chevalier uniforms. They recounted the events of the battle thus far. With West Genetics fighting strength weakened. The remaining fourth years were broken up into two platoons and each one would take on one Type-S each. She explained to them that the most likely target for the Nova was the ravensbourne nucleotide chamber. The place where Maria Lancelot's remains were stored. Several third years and prominent second years were told to be stationed at various points along the path to the chamber should the nova break through. Everyone acknowledged their orders and went their separate ways. Abel, Ticy, Chiffon and Shouichi were walking toward their assigned stations. Chiffon and Ticy were in their battle uniforms. Abel was also in the combat uniform for limiters. Shouichi on the other hand was still wearing the standard uniform.

"Hey Shouichi aren't you gonna go change into your combat gear?" Abel asked.

"Don't need it. Besides It's just get in the way." Shouichi replied.

"But why it would offer you some extra protection." Ticy said.

"Not much against a nova actually. Besides, Chiffon is all the protection I need." Shouichi said confidently making Chiffon blush a little.

The group parted ways as Chiffon and Shouichi stopped at their assigned station. They were the first line of defense should the nova make it through. Ticy and Abel had been assigned much further inward. They said their goodbyes and hoped that they would make it through the battle. Shouichi sat cross legged on the ground while Chiffon just leaned against a wall.

"So what do you think our odds are?" Chiffon asked her partner.

"Honestly if all we had to worry about were the nova this wouldn't be a problem but I have a feeling we might have to fight some of our own." Shouichi said.

Shouichi's prediction however came true. As the platoon A went to confront the nova, It released the assimilated pandora to fight against their own comrades. The assimilated pandora had undergone novelization and had large stigmata on their chest and had spikes coming from their backs. Their hands were also replaced with blades. The nova pandora disappeared in accel and made their way toward the chamber. All the efforts to stop the nova pandora were failures as they easily blasted through the thick steel doors like paper.

"I think it's about time we prepared to meet our guests Chiffon. Henshin!" Shouichi said as his belt appeared and he transformed into Agito. Chiffon deployed her volt weapon. A clawed gauntlet called Anti-Nova.

The efforts of the West Genetics staff only managed to delay the nova pandora and split them up into two groups. One headed straight for Elizabeth Mably and her friends and one more headed for Chiffon and Agito. Elizabeth and the group met the intruders first. It was unlike fighting regular nova. The nova pandora had all the skills of regular pandora and given their numbers, they were pushing her group back. But then Elizabeth discovered a weakness of theirs. If they destroyed the stigmata on their chest, they could free the pandora from the nova's control. The second group of nova pandora broke through and met with Chiffon and Agito.

"You won't back down if I ask you to right?" Chiffon asked politely.

The nova pandora charged at the two of them but they were all easily knocked back. Even their numbers did little to help them against the might of the unmatched smiling monster and Agito. But they were losing some ground. Their numbers seemed to be never ending.

"Tch. We're not going to be able to hold out much longer if we keep fighting like this." Shouichi said.

"Agreed. There are just too many of them." Chiffon said as she knocked back on of the enemy pandora.

"Agito storm form!" Shouichi shouted as he hit the left switch on his belt. The gem in the centre glowed blue as his golden colored armor turned blue. His arm also had additional armor. Chiffon was surprised at his change. She was even more surprised when an object appeared from his belt. He twirled it around as the staff opened to become a halberd.

"I suggest you get behind me Chiffon. Now raging winds become my strength!" Shouichi said as he began twirling the halberd as Chiffon followed his instructions. Strong winds began building up as he spun the halberd faster. Some of the enemy pandora were struggling to stand and were eventually blown off their feet by the force of the wind.

"Let's go Chiffon." Shouichi said as he charged at the enemy pandora and began destroying the stigmata on their chests. Chiffon followed close behind him and did the same. She was surprised at how agile his blue form was. Just as they were about to beat the last two enemy pandora, they slipped away in an accel.

"Tch. Two of them got away." Shouichi said as he reverted back into golden form.

"Control room this is Chiffon Fairchild. Two of the enemy pandora got past us." Chiffon said as she told the control room of their failure to completely stop the enemy pandora's advance.

The two of them then rushed to where the others were. By the time they had gotten to the inner chamber where the last enemy pandora, Cassie lockheart had gotten to, they were surprised to find that she had been beaten by Satellizer. Everyone wondered where Shouichi had gone and why Agito had suddenly appeared here. As all of the defense team gathered together, they were surprised to hear that the last remaining Type-S had disappeared again. They all immediately jumped backwards with fear when it reappeared inside the inner chamber right in front of them.

All the pandora prepared to attack. But suddenly, they were stopped by a powerful freezing field. They turned to see the source of the freezing field. Satellizer had apparently held on to one of the nova stigmata. The nova stigmata had somehow taken control of her and had turned her into one of the enemy pandora. The limiters tried to use their freezing to counter the field but it didn't work. Then the pandora tried to use their pandora mode to move within the freezing area. It seemed to work at first but the freezing field got stronger and forced all the pandora to the ground. The nova lashed out at the pandora as they were defenseless.

"Tch. This is not a favorable situation." Agito said as he defended the pandora from the nova's attack.

"Kazuya! You need to get through to Satellizer! Use your freezing and communicate with her. Reach out to her heart. Save your partner." Agito said. Kazuya complied and cast his freezing are on Satellizer and tried to convince her to fight the nova's control. Agito continued to defend the pandora from the Type-S's attack.

"It's going to get a little hot in here. Agito Flame Form!" Agito said as he hit the right switch on his belt this time. His armor turned from gold to red this time and he had additional armor on his right arm. He then pulled out a sword from the now red core on his belt and used it to parry the nova's attack.

"Now all things turn to ash!" Agito said as crest horns opened on the sword's hilt. He then charged straight at the nova. He delivered a single slash to the nova's core as the nova burst into flames. He turned around and saw that Kazuya had managed to calm Satellizer down.

As everyone recovered, they asked Chiffon where Shouichi had gone to and what had happened to him. She giggled and said that he had been around all the time and in fact he was the one who saved them against that nova. Everyone's eyes widened as they wondered what she was talking about then everyone got the surprise of their lives when Agito turned back into Shouichi.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4-Trinity**

"Hey Chiffon, do you have any idea why we are being called to sister Margaret's office?" Shouichi asked as he strolled through the halls with his partner.

"Nope not a clue." Chiffon replied.

The pair were walking towards sister Margaret's office. They were joined by some other pandora and limiters including Elizabeth, Rana, Satellizer, Andre and Kazuya. It had been a month since the last nova attack. Those who had seen Shouichi transform into Agito and vice versa had been told to keep that information to themselves. In addition, the devastation brought about in the last nova clash had forced the Chevalier to roll-out the e-pandora project. The project was intended to enable normal incompatible girls to become pandora to help bolster earth's military might. Today some select pandora and their limiters had been asked to report to sister Margaret's office for some unknown reason. The group walked into the office. Chiffon being the student council president, addressed sister Margaret as the representative of the group.

"Good morning, sister Margaret. As you requested, all of us have gathered here." Chiffon said.

"Yes. Thank you all for coming. As you are all aware, the Chevalier has recently commissioned project e-pandora under Dr. Scarlett Ohara. And she has requested that select pandora be sent from every genetics academy to be sent to the Alaska base where the research for the project is being done. I have selected the four of you to represent West Genetics. I hope you will comply with whatever they need. Is there anyone objecting?" Sister Margaret asked.

None of them said a word and just nodded in acknowledgement of their orders.

"Very good then. All of you will leave tomorrow. So please do go get ready." Sister Margaret said. The group turned to leave. Shouichi remained inside the office.

"Yes, what do you want Shouichi?" sister Margaret asked.

"Umm, is it possible to arrange to have my motorcycle brought along for the trip?" Shouichi asked with a sheepish grin.

"Why would you want that? I don't think it would be useful in the arctic environment." sister Margaret replied.

"Well, it's not about the use per say but the issue is that it is sort of a part of the Agito package. If it isn't within a certain proximity to me, it's going to come looking for me. And I think it will be a lot better to have a motorcycle sent with a rider than a sentient one going around looking for someone right?" Shouichi responded.

"Fine. it will be arranged." Sister Margaret said with a sigh as Shouichi turned to leave. When he got out, Chiffon was waiting for him.

"What were you talking to sister Margaret about?" Chiffon asked.

"Hmm, oh nothing." Shouichi said.

"What were you talking to her about. As your partner I demand to know." Chiffon said as she turned to him with her sinister smile.

"Ahh. Please don't hurt me. I was just asking her if my motorcycle could be brought along to the Alaska base." Shouichi said as he tried to shield himself from Chiffon. If anything could scare him it would be a monster especially a smiling one.

"There, was that so hard now? You know you can trust me right. But why would you want your motorcycle? We are going to be in the frigid cold." Chiffon said as she held his hand and they walked through the halls. The hallway was empty since everyone was still having classes.

"Hmm. Since no one is around I guess I can tell you. The motorcycle is sort of a part of the Agito package. It runs off the same power source as Agito and is designed to seek me out if I'm not not in certain proximity to it." Shouichi replied.

"I see. Well anyway let's get back to class shall we?" Chiffon said with a friendly smile and Shouichi responded in the same way as the pair walked back for class.

The Next Day.

Sister Margaret and Kazuha were there to bid farwell to the group as they prepared to leave for Alaska. They were split into two groups and two different helicopters. Satellizer, Rana and Kazuya were in one and Elizabeth, Chiffon, Andre and Shouichi were on the other. Shouichi joined the group after loading his motorcycle on the helicopter.

"You had better look after yourself Kazuya. And make sure you don't cause any trouble." Kazuha said to her little brother.

"Yes Nee-san." Kazuya replied.

"Very well then. It's time for you to go. I hope you have a fun time in Alaska and that all of you return safely." sister Margaret replied as the two groups walked into their helicopters.

"Hachoo." Shouichi sneezed and started shivering as they entered the cold airspace of Antarctica.

"I hate the cold." he remarked.

"There, there. Why don't I help you feel warmer." Chiffon said as she pulled Shouichi into her chest. He felt warm but the noticed that he was unintentionally motor boating his partner.

"Ahh. I'm sorry." Shouichi said as he pulled away.

"It's fine Shouichi. We're partners. And I'll make sure you feel warm." Chiffon said as she pulled him in again.

Just as he felt comfortable in her warmth, they were informed that a Type-S nova had appeared. They were told that the students in the other helicopter that had been travelling in front of them had already been deployed to confront the nova. They watched the monitor as Satellizer and Rana managed to hit the nova's core. Everyone was shocked when the nova just continued moving.

"Hehe. This looks interesting. I think this ought to take my mind of the frigid cold." Shuichi said as he got up.

"How can you be so relaxed at facing a Type-S nova?" Elizabeth asked.

"Hmm. That's cause I think facing a nova is better that thinking about the cold." Shouichi responded.

"You know for someone as strong as you, you seem pretty useless against the cold." Andre said.

"So sue me. I'm still human after all. Hey helicopter pilot can you get us right above the nova?" Shouichi said.

"Roger that." the pilot responded.

"Wait what do you intend to do Shouichi?" Chiffon asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna destroy that thing. Henshin!" Shouichi said as he turned into Agito. Everyone was surprised when he began hitting his head with his hand.

"What's wrong Shouichi?" Chiffon asked concerned by her partner's odd behavior.

"Nothing. It's just that I remembered that I can't build up energy for my ground dragon kick because I'm not on the ground." Shouichi said laughing.

"Oh well. Since I wanna do an aerial strike I guess I'll just use this then." Shouichi said as he hit the right switch on his belt and transformed into his flame form. Then he pulled out the flame saber as the helicopter doors opened.

"See you on the ground guys!" Shouichi said as he jumped out.

"Man that partner of yours. How can he stay so jovial and calm in a situation like this?" Elizabeth asked as Chiffon just giggled.

As Agito came upon the nova, the crest horns on his flame saber opened as the blade began heating up. He cut off a sizeable chunk of the nova's left half, including a part of its core. He turned away from the nova as the part that he had cut began burning and turning to ash. Then he heard Kazuya warning him that the nova was still moving. He sighed and hit the left button on his belt and turned into his storm form and pulled out the storm halberd. He swung the weapon a few times as gusts of wind blew around him. Then he held the halberd like a lance in his left hand. Blue energy built up at the tip of the lance as he hurled it directly at the nova's core. The nova still continued moving. But then Agito clenched his left fist and all the built up energy in the lance released itself, ripping the nova apart.

Agito now in ground form joined up with Chiffon, Elizabeth and Andre who had just landed nearby. Satellizer, Kazuya and Rana were close behind. They observed the wreckage and noted that it had not been a regular nova but rather a nova dummy. They realized that the battle had been recorded and someone was observing them. The West Genetics Delegation then boarded their assigned helicopters once more to reach the Alaska base.

When they reached there, they were given a tour of the available facilities before the pandora and limiters were brought to separate rooms. The limiters were escorted to the main event hall while the pandora were brought to the lab to have volt texture data implanted specifically for the cold environment. They rejoined their partners again at the main hall.

"Hey there Chiffon. I like the new dress. It looks a lot snazzier than the normal genetics one. How's the new volt texture data?" Shouichi said as he waved his partner over to where he, Kazuya and Andre were.

"Hi Shouichi. The new uniform feels great. And the new volt texture is great. I don't feel cold at all." Chiffon replied as she approached him followed closely by the other West Genetics pandora.

"Well at least one of us doesn't feel cold." Shouichi groaned. He could still feel the chill of the arctic cold despite being in a controlled room.

"There. There. I'll keep you warm till you get used to the cold." Chiffon said lovingly as she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh by the way Chiffon who are those other pandora?" Shouichi asked as he gestured toward a group of four other pandora and their limiters.

"Oh those are the remaining four of the top five pandora worldwide. Roxanne Elipton the immortal phoenix or the zombie from genetics USA. Charles Bonaparte the tempest phoenix from Genetics France. Cassie Lockheart the gosdpeed of the East from East genetics and Julia Munberk the maverick from genetics Germany." Chiffon said as she introduced the other four pandora.

"Zombie? You mean like those things that go argh! and wanna eat brains?" Shouichi replied.

"Is this your sorry excuse for a partner Chiffon? I think you could probably do better." Roxanne said obviously insulted by Shouichi's antics.

"Hey! Shouichi is an excellent partner. He may be an airhead but he is an honest and nice person. Besides most of the time his jokes are actually funny." Chiffon responded defending her partner who she was still holding in her arms.

Then silence fell across the hall as everyone gathered turned their attention to a woman in a lab coat who had stepped out of the podium. That woman turned out to be none other than Dr. Scarlett Ohara the researcher in charge of the e-pandora project. She gave everyone a briefing and overview of the e-pandora project as well as informing everyone of the mini carnival that would be held tomorrow to help gather data from the original pandoras to help improve the e-pandora.

"I heard that they had to do some pretty shady stuff to get the funding." Roxanne remarked.

"What do you mean by that Roxanne?" Cassie asked.

"I mean that they did experiments on people and used human guinea pigs." Roxanne replied.

"Excuse us? But what did you just say?" A white haired girl wearing an odd uniform said. She was standing in front of a group of girls wearing a similar uniform.

"And just who are you?" Roxanne asked.

"We are the e-pandora that you just called human guinea pigs." the white haired girl replied.

"Oho so you girls are the e-pandora. Well then sorry to break it to you but I think you girls are just being used. There is no way the e-pandora can ever match up to the pandora. Even Dr. Gengo Aoi thinks so." Roxanne said.

"Chiffon, do something to stop them. They look about ready to tear each other's throats out." Shouichi said as he took notice of the increasing tension. He was still being held in Chiffon's arms.

Chiffon let go of him and approached Roxanne and the e-pandora. "Please do forgive my comrade for her rudeness. I'm sure she doesn't mean to say. Just so we don't get off on the wrong foot, I really want to commend you girls for volunteering for the project." Chiffon said.

She turned to Roxanne and used her smile-of-death to get her to apologize.

"Well then that's settled nicely." Chiffon said as she went back to where Shouichi was and continued holding him in her arms.

Since it was already night time, all the various genetics delegations broke up into their individual groups in order to go to their assigned rooms. Elizabeth and Andre had already found their rooms first before the rest of the group. The rooms were assigned based on fighting partners. Rana was furious when Satellizer was to share a room with Kazuya while she would be left alone. Shouichi and Chiffon were just passing by when they saw the commotion.

"Hey what's going on you two?" Chiffon asked. She was leaning against Shouichi and had her arm wrapped around his as they were walking toward the rooms.

"I don't understand why Satellizer has been assigned to a room with my Kazuya." Rana blurted.

"Well seeing as how neither of you have finalized a partnership with Kazuya, I have a solution that can solve this problem well." Shouichi said.

"Really? And what would that be?" Satellizer asked.

"The two of you will sleep together in one room while Kazuya will sleep alone. End of the problem. Now very good night." Shouichi said as he pushed both Rana and Satellizer into the room and closed the door on them.

"Good night Kazuya." Chiffon said as the two of them left for their own room.

The two of them went over to their own rooms and got settled in. Shouichi threw himself on the bed and was just about to doze off when Chiffon threw her pillow at him.

"What do you want now Chiffon?" Shouichi asked as he got up.

"You don't expect to sleep like that do you?" Chiffon said.

"What do you mean?" Shouichi asked.

"As partners we should be together and have intimate contact as often as possible!" Chiffon responded as she disengaged her volt texture and put on her night gown.

Understanding what his partner meant by that, Shouichi got off the bed and went to join the two single beds together into one large bed so that the two could sleep together. He took of his clothes and changed into his sleeping clothes and jumped onto the bed as Chiffon snuggled next to him. The two partners fell asleep, their arms wrapped around one another.

The Next Day.

Everyone gathered in the arena to spectate the mini carnival between the e-pandora and pandora. Three pandora were selected to go against three e-pandora. One of the pandora selected was Elizabeth Mably and she fought Amelia Evans the white haired girl from the day before till the other girl was badly injured and Dr. Ohara was forced to stop the match.

"Hey Shouichi aren't you paying any attention to the battles at all?" Chiffon asked as she prodded her partner.

"Huh, yeah I am." Shouichi responded. He was busy playing with a dart he held in his hand, examining its shape carefully.

"Then tell me what you think about the e-pandora thus far." Chiffon said wanting to ensure that her partner was actually on task.

"Hmm... While they may not be as strong as normal pandora now, they certainly do have a lot of drive. If the project works I won't be surprised if they end up surpassing some regular pandora. Also the project doesn't really seem to be working right now though. They may be able to use pandora skills but they can't summon volt weapons." Shouichi commented.

"It's good to know that you were paying attention." Chiffon replied.

A Few Days pass.

Everyone was gathered in the hall once again to watch another match between an e-pandora and a pandora. This time Satellizer was selected to be the one to fight. She was up against GIna Purpleton. Gina had apparently become the first e-pandora to take the Mark IV serum. This allowed her to at first push back Satellizer but eventually the match was halted by Dr. Ohara.

"This is an interesting development." Shouichi remarked as he walked toward the cafeteria for lunch with Chiffon.

"It's wonderful news right! The project if progressing wonderfully." Chiffon said as they sat together with the rest of the West genetics group.

"But I can't help but feel that there was something off about that Gina girl." Elizabeth commented.

"Well so I wasn't the only one then." Shouichi said.

"What do you mean?" Satellizer asked.

"Well when Gina fought you I felt a great disturbance in the natural energy of this place. In fact I think Roxanne wasn't wrong when she said that some pretty shady things are being done here. The natural energies of the base feels off." Shouichi said.

"How can you tell?" Chiffon asked.

"Well I am Agito and my power comes from the earth so I can feel the flow of energy. This place in particular feels odd. Like its full of sorrow and malice. As if the earth itself is witness to atrocities beyond imagination." Shouichi said, his voice softening so that only the West Genetics group could hear him.

Just as Chiffon and Shouichi got back to their room to rest, the alarm for the base was sounded and all pandora were told to remain on standby. Elizabeth and Charles had been told to proceed to the e-pandora dorm to deal with the reported nova. Chiffon and Shouichi walked out of their room prepared to be deployed. They saw Satellizer running through the halls and knew exactly where she was going. They chased after Satellizer and headed toward the e-pandora dorm. They were all surprised to see that the nova that had triggered the alert was a novalized Gina Purpleton. She was now fighting against Charles. Elizabeth was injured presumably fighting her as well. They got there just in time to see Charles land the killing blow to Gina. Amelia dropped to the ground in sadness at her fallen comrade.

"Mark IV... was... a fraud." Everyone heard the novalized Gina saying as she died.

As everyone dispersed to their rooms the West Genetics group walked back together with Andre supporting Elizabeth all the way back. The group discussed the final message left by Gina.

"So what do you think Gina meant when she said that?" Satellizer asked.

"I think she meant that the Mark IV serum had little chance of success but they still used it anyway just to show that the project was going somewhere when in fact it wasn't. The result was Gina." Andre said.

"So the mark IV works but the rate of success is so low and so short-lived that it just turns whoever who takes it into a nova." Chiffon commented.

"We need to do something about it. We can't let another one of them take the mark IV and turn into a nova." Elizabeth said.

"Careful Elizabeth. As much as I would like to help the e-pandora escape from their hellish fate as human guinea pigs, we need to tread lightly. This is after all a Chevalier supported project." Shouichi said as the group parted ways for their individual rooms.

A week later.

"Hey Andre, do you know where Elizabeth is?" Chiffon asked as she and Shouichi sat at the table with him.

"She was summoned to Chevalier headquarters a few days ago and hasn't come back since. I'm starting to get worried." Andre replied.

"Hey don't sweat it. Maybe Elizabeth is just getting a reward for being such a model pandora." Chiffon said.

"Are you serious Chiffon? She's not some kid you know." Shouichi said as he almost spat out his food at his partners reply. He was trying to hold back laughs.

"What's wrong with that? Everyone likes rewards." Chiffon huffed as she began jabbing at Shouichi's sides.

"Oww. Stop that. Maybe if you want a reward you should work harder too." Shouichi remarked as he held Chiffon's wrist to stop her from poking him.

As the three of them walked back to their quarters, they noticed two Chevalier pandora guarding the other exit which lead to the helipad. Chiffon and Shouichi were shocked when Andre approached the two and asked them when Elizabeth would be returning. He was obviously displeased with their cold response and so he barged past them demanding to know where his partner was. The two Chevalier pandora prepared to attack him when Shouichi suddenly tackled Andre to the ground and used his knowledge of pressure points to paralyze Andre temporarily. He picked Andre up and slung him across his shoulder and turned to bring him back to his room.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble he has caused. But when Elizabeth does return could you please ask her to visit her worried partner immediately?" Shouichi said as he turned to the two Chevalier pandora giving them a very unnerving smile.

He put Andre down on the bed and un-paralyzed Andre. Andre questioned why he had stopped him.

"Careful there Andre. You almost got yourself killed back there. Those two would have attacked you without hesitation. I don't think Elizabeth would want to return to an injured or worse dead partner right?" Shouichi said.

"Now, I want you to tell ask what exactly caused Elizabeth to be called away to headquarters. You seem like you're hiding something." Chiffon said

"Very well then I guess there is no reason to hide it anymore. Elizabeth wanted to put an end to the suffering of the e-pandora. So she created a report detailing everything about the mark IV and the experiments done to the e-pandora together with her suspicions about the project. It was sent out in secret to her father in the hopes that she could get him to act using his connections. Then she was called away." Andre said.

"I see. Now then, hasn't anyone told you that it is rude to eavesdrop?" Chiffon said as she turned towards the door. Immediately Satellizer, Kazuya and Rana walked in and apologized.

Then standing at the door behind them was the two chevalier pandora. They had Elizabeth in their arms. She seemed to be in some sort of daze. They pushed Elizabeth into the room and said that she was under house arrest for a week. Then they closed the door as Andre rushed to her partner's side. He tried to get her to regain her senses but she just fell to the floor in a vegetative state. Shouichi calmly walked over to the television and switched it on to the news channel.

"Shouichi what are you doing?" Chiffon asked.

"Call it a hunch but I think there might be some interesting news soon." Shouichi replied. His hunch was correct. The news was reporting on how the Mably group had lost its large fortune and the conglomerate was now being forced to close down.

"Wait why is this happening?" Satellizer asked.

"It's revenge. Revenge against the Mably's for trying to go against the chevalier." Andre said.

"Humans can be such despicable creatures when we want to be right? Andre can you help to hold up Elizabeth?" Shouichi said.

"Sure. But why? Wouldn't it be better if she rested a little bit first?" Andre replied.

"I'm gonna see if I can heal her. Henshin." Shouichi said as he transformed into Agito.

Andre propped up Elizabeth against his body with her back facing Agito. Shouichi placed his hands against Elizabeth's stigmata as the crest horns on his head opened up and golden energy built up around his legs. The golden energy began flowing through his body and into Elizabeth's stigmata, causign them to glow golden. Then Elizabeth came to her senses as Shouichi let go of her.

"Elizabeth!" Andre shouted in glee as his partner was back to her usual self.

"Thanks, Shouichi." Elizabeth said as she turned to face everyone after getting out of the hug with Andre.

"No problem. Now I'd like you to tell us everything. But since we can't risk having anyone overhear our conversation let's go to a place beyond mortal eyes and ears." Shouichi said as his crest horns opened up once more and the room was enveloped in a golden light.

"Where are we?" Elizabeth asked. Her surroundings were all white. Everyone looked like they were floating.

"You all are inside my inner world. The only other person to have come here before is Chiffon. Now that no one outside can hear or see us, Elizabeth I want you to tell me everything." Shouichi said.

Everyone listened intently as Elizabeth recounted all of the events including her torture by the Chevalier. She also told them everything that she had found out through her meetings with Amelia Evans.

"Sigh it can't be helped then. We need to do something about the situation." Shouichi said.

"But how? Elizabeth tried and she got tortured for it." Andre said.

"Simple because Elizabeth was a lone pawn trying to topple a king. But if we were to turn the King's knights against him then he will surely fall." Shouichi said.

The golden light subsided as everyone found themselves back in the room. Shouichi turned back to normal and began falling to the ground from exhaustion as Chiffon caught him.

"Heheh. Haven't tried pulling that many people into my inner world before." Shouichi said.

"But anyway, Elizabeth do you still have your report?" Shouichi asked and he was handed a thumb drive.

"Alright then. Everyone back to your rooms." Shouichi said as he turned to leave. Chiffon followed him.

"Wait where are you going and what do you intend to do with the data?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm sending it to Dr. Aoi." Shouichi said.

He and Chiffon walked over to the hangar bay where his motorcycle was stored. He pretend to be working on it and slipped the report into a hidden compartment of the motorcycle. He then got on it and told it to seek out Dr. Aoi. No one noticed the golden energy building up in its wheels. He got off it and turned to walk back to the room with Chiffon.

"What did you just do?" Chiffon asked as they walked back.

"I sent machine tornador to go and find Dr. Aoi and pass him the report." Shouichi responded nonchalantly.

"Wait but how? It's still here." Chiffon said in surprise.

"The motorcycle here is just an astral projection. The real one is on its way to Dr. Aoi now." Shouichi responded as the two headed off to their room.

A week later.

An alarm sounded throughout the base as the announcement followed that the e-pandora had stolen the mark IV serum and were carrying out a revolt in the base. This information shocked everyone. All chevalier pandora as well as select pandora were told to stop the rebellion. As Chiffon and Shouichi turned to leave they bumped into Elizabeth and Andre.

"Elizabeth what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be on standby." Chiffon said.

"I'm going to help the e-pandora. I can't believe you would follow your orders so willingly. Those girls deserve their freedom." Elizabeth said as she slapped Chiffon for wanting to stop the e-pandora then stormed off.

"That heart of hers is exactly why I believe that Elizabeth will be the one to lead all the pandora." Chiffon said as she turned to go to her assigned station with Shouichi close behind. They waited to confront any enemies that had made it through the main defensive line.

The pair were surprised that one e-pandora had actually made it through. It was Amelia Evans. She was undergoing novelization, and obvious effect of taking the Mark IV serum. There were pointy structures from her back and her arms were now blades. Just then Satellizer, Rana and Kazuya appeared behind her.

"Just what do the three of you think you are doing here?" Chiffon asked.

"We intend to help the e-pandora escape. Even if that means standing up to the two of you. Amelia go!" Satellizer said as the e-pandora acknowledged the assistance and continued making her way through the facility.

"Chiffon-sempai, why can't you see that we should be helping the e-pandora not hampering them?" Kazuya said.

"While I do not like my orders, I do have to follow them. My first duty is to West Genetics and then to the chevalier." Chiffon said as she deployed he volt weapon and prepared to stop Rana and Satellizer.

Shouichi on the other just lay down comfortably on the stone floor. And watched as the pandora prepared to fight each other.

"Shouichi aren't you going to do something about this?" Kazuya said.

"Nope. I don't like the orders too. So as long as I don't fight I'm neither doing something I don't want to nor am I disobeying orders. Besides. I'll step in if I feel that Chiffon is in danger. That's what partners do. Although I highly doubt she'll have any trouble dealing with the two of them." Shouichi responded as he watched the two pandora battle Chiffon. Their volt weapons just shattered on contact with Chiffon and she was easily dealing massive damage to the other two.

Satellizer and Rana were sent backwards into a nearby wall and quickly recovered as they prepared to face Chiffon again. This time they activated more of their power as wings could be seen bursting from the stigmata on their backs. It was something Rana had called the opening of the holy gates. This time Chiffon was forced on the defensive.

"The true monsters here are in fact the two of you not me." Chiffon said as she was forced backwards by the combined might of Rana and Satellizer. She summoned another gauntlet on her other arm and sent Satellizer backwards before ripping off Rana's left arm. Then she used her illusion turn to close the distance between her and Satellizer and proceeded to smash her head against the ground several times as Kazuya watched on in horror.

"Well. Then now that's done with. I wonder if anyone managed to stop Amelia." Chiffon said as she began to walk toward Shouichi who was still lying down on the cold concrete.

Then suddenly a warning was issued saying that an unknown nova had appeared at the base. At the same time, Shouichi felt Machine Tornador return back to the base. Then it was announced that Dr. Aoi had arrived at the base and that the base was now under his control. The type unknown began to emit a signal at an odd frequency. Immediately when Chiffon and Shouichi heard it their expressions changed.

"Shit. Henshin!" Shouichi said as he turned into Agito. He activated flame form then burst the wall open to go outside to see the type unknown.

"Is that Amelia Evans?" Chiffon questioned.

"Yeah. And she's emitting a signal that's forcing the stigmata to resonate. This is very bad considering that there are many pandora here with high synchro rates." Shouichi said. Then suddenly the type unknown released several small blobs of white matter that landed near Chiffon and Shouichi. The blobs turned into mindless clones of Maria Lancelot that began attacking the pair.

Then they suddenly felt a strange energy coming from the area that they had come from. They turned to see the source of the energy and found that Rana and Satellizer had both turned into nova due to the call of the type unknown. Elsewhere, squads had been deployed to deal with the the two Type S that had appeared in addition to the type unknown.

"Chiffon can you take care of those two? I'll handle the clones." Shouichi said as Chiffon used her illusion turn to get to the novalized Satellizer and Rana. Kazuya was close behind trying to get the two of them to return to normal.

"tch. This is never ending." Shouichi said as he slashed one of the clones in half and it burst into flames. He turned around in horror to see Chiffon being stabbed in the chest by Satellizer. Then something clicked within him. He kicked one of the clones to the ground and ran his saber through it. Then he pressed the left switch on his belt. Ordinarily it would have turned him into storm form but instead he changed into a form that had the traits of all three of his forms. He pulled out the storm halberd. Now he had the storm halberd in his left hand and his flame saber in his right as he decimated the clones.

In his shock at Chiffon being stabbed, Kazuya had cast a freezing area which stopped the two novalized pandora and also froze Chiffon.

"Kazuya drop your field it's not helping Chiffon at all!" Shouichi shouted as he destroyed the last of the clones.

Kazuya did as he was told as Shouichi approached Kazuya. Chiffon used her illusion turn to evade one of Satellizer's attacks. Blood could be seen trickling from where Satellizer had stabbed her chest.

"Listen to me. I don't know how but I have some of my memories back. That's why I can assume this trinity form. Now if you want to save the two of them, you need to listen and follow my instructions. Those two's rational minds are stuck in a deep abyss and you need to awaken them in order to save them. Freezing is in fact a form of communication. You need to cast and omni-directional freezing and reach out to the two of them. If you don't Chiffon will be forced to kill them." Shouichi said.

"Alright sempai. I'll try." Kazuya said as he cast an omni-directional freezing that stopped the two nova pandora. Chiffon was now standing next to Kazuya and Shouichi, her injury healing.

"Chiffon, I'll leave this mess to you. I need to take care of that nova." Shouichi said. He summoned Machine tornader which was in its floating slider mode. He jumped on it and left to attack the nova.

"Cheh. I can't break through." Shouichi cursed as he weaved around the nova aboard the machine tornader and attacked it.

He jumped off the machine tornador and held up the storm halberd like a lance and hurled it toward the nova. It hit the nova and tore off a sizeable chunk of the creature but it just regenerated. Then he held up the flame saber and generated a large blade of pure fire which he used to cut the nova. But again he couldn't stop it.

"I'm sorry Amelia. I can't save you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive all those who have wronged you and your friends. I promise I will find some way to atone for this. But I need to protect my friends." Shouichi said as he began charging energy for his kick.

"Shouichi what are you doing?" Chiffon shouted as she approached him. Kazuya and the now normal Satellizer and Rana were behind her.

He remained silent as his crest horns expanded. The raging blizzard of the arctic weather seemed to stop and concentrate around Agito as did any flames in the area. Then golden energy with a red and blue outline appeared at Agito's feet. The energy dissipated into his legs. He ran toward the nova and jumped up and delivered a flying kick at the type-unknown. Only instead of the regular golden dragon, there were now three dragons that surrounded him. One blue, one red and one gold and all three dragons concentrated at the point of impact, destroying the nova.

Chiffon immediately ran towards where the nova had once stood and where her partner was. There were other pandora with her too, including Roxanne, Cathy and Julia. There in the centre of the destruction was Agito on his knees. Everyone was shocked when he turned back into Shouichi. Tears could be seen running down his cheeks. Chiffon immediately ran toward him and pulled him into her chest, comforting him.

"Why is he crying? We won didn't we?" Roxanne asked.

"No we didn't. I failed. I couldn't save Amelia." Shouichi said sobbing. His head was pressed against Chiffon's chest.

"Shh. It's okay now Shouichi don't cry. You did what you had to in order to protect everyone." Chiffon said softly trying to comfort her partner.

"What's wrong with him?" Roxanne asked again.

"He could feel the sadness within Amelia. He could feel all the grief within her and the e-pandora. He believes that he had no right to take her life." Chiffon replied.

"And that is exactly why I need to atone for the mistake. Not just my own failure but the weakness of us humans. To be able to let circumstances like this force us down the path to becoming monsters and being no better than the things we try to destroy." Shouichi said as he got up and transformed into his trinity form again.

"What are you doing Shouichi?" Chiffon asked.

"Paying for our mistakes now. Trinity form should be able to carry out such a miracle. In exchange I'll give up its power and my recovered memories." Shouichi said as he summoned his two weapons.

"Why are you so willing to give up something so precious?" Chiffon asked again.

"It's because I bear the burden of being chosen to be Agito. It's okay Chiffon. I'm positive one day I'll remember everything again as long as I stay with you. Before I return to being the normal Shouichi, I leave you with this warning. The nova are the spawn of the overlord of darkness. The type-S are but a taste of their might. Stronger ones will appear and eventually the EL lords will come to herald the revival of the overlord himself." Shouichi said.

He crossed the two weapons. Then his crest horns opened up and energy began building up in his body. Then three dragons flew toward the sky. The three dragons wrapped around one another before turning into particles which rained down throughout the base. healing everyone and reviving the dead e-pandora. Shouichi returned back to normal and almost fell to the ground but Chiffon supported him as they made their way to the part of the base that was still intact.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5-Burning**

In the aftermath of the battle at the Alaska base, Dr. Aoi had sent everyone back to their individual genetics academies. This was after he had received a full report from each individual about what they had seen or heard during their time at the facility. This report was to declare the e-pandora project a failure. All the blame was pushed to under-secretary Marks Spencer and Dr. Ohara. In the face of embarrassment, Raddox was forced to resigned as the general of the Chevalier.

Everyone said their goodbyes as they boarded the various planes that would take them back home. Shouichi was leaning against Chiffon for support. He still had yet to fully recover from whatever thing he had pulled off at the end of the battle which had miraculously revived the dead e-pandora as well as healed everyone's injuries.

"Well then, this is goodbye I guess. This place has been one hell of mess huh." Roxanne said to Chiffon as she turned to walk towards her limiter and the plane that would take her back to genetics USA.

"Yeah. It's been a rough ride. I hope to meet you all again someday." Chiffon replied.

"I think we will." Cassie said as she left as well.

Chiffon and Shouichi then walked off to join their other comrades who were already aboard their own plane.

"So you really lost your memories again huh Shouichi?" Chiffon asked.

"What memories?" Shouichi asked curious as to what his partner was talking about.

"What is the last thing you remember about yourself?" Chiffon asked.

"Hmm. I felt like I was floating around then I was found by someone who looked after me and trained me." Shouichi replied.

"I see so you don't remember anything else then. Do you remember this form?" Chiffon asked as she handed him her tablet which played back footage of Agito in his trinity form destroying the Maria clones.

"Woah when did I do that? And I have such a form? That's pretty cool." Shouichi remarked.

"Wait you don't remember any of this? And you don't know about this form?" Chiffon asked surprised.

"Nope not a clue. By the way what's gonna happen when we get back?" Shouichi asked.

"It's back to the usual schedule of classes I guess." Chiffon said. _It seems he really did lose all his unlocked memories when he healed everyone. And it seems like he can't use trinity form anymore. But still it was odd that he could suddenly recall his memories. Is he really amnesiac or are his memories sealed away? And then there is still that cryptic warning he left us. Just what is an Overlord and what is an El?_

As the plane landed back at West Genetics the group got off and were greeted by several students as well as the staff members there.

"Welcome back. I am glad that everyone has returned back safely." Sister Margaret said as she welcomed her students back to the academy.

"Oh Kazuya I'm so glad to see you back safely. Grandfather told me that there was some rebellion and then nova appeared. What exactly happened?" Kazuha asked as she rushed to give her younger brother a hug.

"Yeah I'm fine nee-san. Shouichi-sempai saved all of us but at a cost." Kazuya replied sadly.

"What happened to your partner Chiffon?" Sister Margaret asked. Shouichi had left to return his motorcycle to the storage area.

"He is fine except during the battle he somehow regained his memories and accessed a new form. But then at the end of the battle he gave up hisnew power and memories as a way of making up for all the atrocities the e-pandora had suffered by healing everyone." Chiffon said as she showed everyone Agito's trinity form.

"I see. But it's sad to see such a power lost again. Are you sure there is now way to coax it back?" Sister Margaret asked.

"I'd prefer it if no one reminded him of the battle and of his trinity form. All I felt when I looked at him in trinity form was sadness as if all his memories were just painful ones." Chiffon replied.

"But why? We are at war. That trinity power could come in handy." Kazuha rebutted.

"I said don't try anything on him. Besides, we have other more pressing matters to deal with. Before he returned to being the amnesiac Shouichi, he left us with a warning. He said that all the nova were creations of a being called the overlord of Darkness and that even the type S were nothing compared to what is to come." Chiffon said as she told them about the cryptic final message left by Trinity form Agito.

"I see. Then the story of legend is really true then. The overlord of darkness is returning and that is why Agito has appeared." Kazuha said.

"Wait what?" Chiffon asked.

"Dr. Aoi has a book about Agito. We thought it was just a legend until Shouichi appeared. But the book did make mention of the overlord of darkness. The book also mentioned that Agito would evolve to achieve infinite possibility. I wonder if trinity form is that form... Anyway, does Dr. Aoi know about the warning?" Kazuha said.

"Yes he has been informed of the warning. He said something about having to see Howard El Bridget to get project valkyrie underway." Chiffon said.

"I see. Thank you for all your efforts everyone. You may go now." Sister Margaret said as they went their separate ways. Kazuha dragged Kazuya along with Satellizer and Rana close behind. Elizabeth went with Andre while Chiffon and Shouichi, who had just returned after placing his motorcycle in the storage area went off on their own way as well.

Summertime.

The students as West Genetics had recently been introduced to Project Valkyrie. Similar to the e-pandora project, it was intended to allow regular girls to fight the nova. This was met with initial rejection by the students fearing a repeat of what had happened in Alaska. But everyone calmed down when they realized that this project took a very different approach to the problem as compared to the e-pandora project. Rather than modify the host body to accept the stigmata, the stigmata itself was modified to work for the host in the form of temporary injection stigmata. Everyone was surprised that Dr. Aoi himself had decided to give the explanation and overview of the project. Then everyone was informed that the valkyries would be having their first demonstration tomorrow.

Kazuya and Kazuha met with their grandfather as he was walking out.

"So this is your plan grandfather? To create more soldiers?" Kazuha asked.

"Project Valkyrie will create soldiers who are of more consistent as compared to the pandora project. We need to be prepared for the battles to come. I am sure Chiffon has already informed you about the cryptic warning left by Agito" Dr. Aoi replied.

"Yes she has." Kazuha replied.

"Are you positive this won't create the same problem as the e-pandora project grandfather?" Kazuya asked.

"Yes Kazuya. The project was in fact proposed together with the pandora project. But the pandoras were chosen as opposed to the valkyries due to the technology available at the time. But now both projects can be run simultaneously. Now that boring stuff aside, I want the two of you over for dinner tonight. Oh and Kazuya please bring Satellizer along as well. She is your pandora partner after all right?" Dr. Aoi said as he turned to leave.

Chiffon and Shouichi were strolling through the halls hand wondering what to do for the day. There was no classes today or tomorrow since tomorrow would be the demonstration of the valkyries.

"Hmm what should we do today Shouichi?" Chiffon asked turning to her partner.

"What would you like to do today Chiffon?" He asked back.

"How about we just relax in your room today?" Chiffon responded.

"Sure." Shouichi replied and the pair walked toward his room.

After enjoying some nice food together, the pair were cuddling together on the bed.

"Hey Chiffon can you tell me more about what I could remember back at the Alaska base?" Shouichi asked.

"Why would you want to know?" Chiffon responded.

"Just interested that's all." Shouichi said.

"Well it's not important. Those memories were nothing important to you. Trust me its better if you just forget them." Chiffon replied as she kissed Shouichi. The two 'partners' spent an enjoyable night together.

Aoi Household

Kazuha, Kazuya and Satellizer had just walked into their grandfather's house. They were surprised to see Su Na Lee there. The pair were at first very awkward around Dr. Aoi but his teasing helped break the ice and eventually the pair felt somewhat comfortable around the eccentric Dr. They then enjoyed the dinner that had prepared by Su Na Lee. They were surprised that Su Na worked as Dr. Aoi's housemaid whenever she was free. She was after all the chevalier's strongest pandora. After Satellizer left, Dr. Aoi invited Kazuya to drink with him in his library while Su Na and Kazuha were cleaning up. Eventually Dr. Aoi got so drunk that he passed out. Su Na Lee brought him to his room as Kazuya and Kazuha cleaned up the mess. While cleaning up the room, Kazuya discovered an old photo album. Out of curiosity, he flipped open the book and found many old pictures including some that had the tag 'lab 13'.

"Hey nee-san, come take a look at this." Kazuya said as he called for Kazuha to take a look at the photo album.

"What is it Kazuya?" She asked as she walked over to see what he was looking at.

They flipped through the photo album.

"It says here 'Girls of Lab 13 for the future of mankind'." Kazuha said as she pointed at a picture of a group of girls. Only two of them could be seen clearly. The other three in the picture had their faces ripped out for some reason.

"This one reminds me of Chiffon-sempai." Kazuya said as he pointed to one of the girls in the photo.

"Are you sure? The picture is dated more than 40 years ago. Pandora age too you know." Kazuha responded.

"Hmm Sister 001-005. But only 005's picture is here. The rest are torn out. 'whether the visitor brings hope or despair it'll be like opening the pandora's box'." Kazuya pondered upon those words and kept trying to understand what the pictures and words meant. He was trying to figure out what his grandfather was planning. He closed the book and got up to help Kazuha finish with the clean up.

The Next Day.

Everyone was gathered in the arena for the demonstration of the valkyries. There was a dummy of a type-S nova in the centre of the arena. Everyone was wondering where exactly the valkyries were. Then everyone's attention was turned to the sky as five girls wearing masks descended from a plane without any safety equipment. At the same time the nova dummy began to move. Everyone was surprised when the girls were able to land so easily and gracefully despite having to avoid the nova dummy. They were even more surprised when one of them could block the particle beam that was fired by the nova dummy. Then in a large display of power, the five valkyries demonstrated their might by first easily distracting the nova before destroying it in one hit. After that, everyone was told to gather at the main hall for a debriefing.

"As all of you have observed, the valkyries are truly a stunning force. However, they need to become an effective part of our military and must learn to work effectively with pandora. It is with great joy for me to announce that select pandora will be selected to create a team together with the valkyries that will be stationed here. That team shall be known as team 13." Sister Margaret said. After finishing the debrief, she dismissed the students as everyone was busy discussing who would be selected for team 13.

"Hey Shouichi who do you think is going to be part of team 13?" Chiffon asked as she walked ahead of her partner. There was no reply and she turned around to see her partner on the ground clutching his chest.

"Shouichi what's wrong?" Chiffon asked as she rushed to his side.

"My body... It feels like its burning." Shouichi said in ragged gasps. He was obviously in pain. Acting quickly, Chiffon helped Shouichi and rushed him over to the medical centre. At the same time, the valkyries also happened to be there with Dr. Aoi in order to have a general check-up and have their medical data inputted to the West Genetics server. Everyone was shocked to see Chiffon carrying Shouichi there.

"What happened to him Chiffon?" Dr. Aoi asked as Elize helped Chiffon get Shouichi onto the bed.

"I have no idea. One minute we were walking through the halls then the next he was on the ground saying that his body was on fire." Chiffon replied deeply concerned about her partner.

"Right let's see what's wrong with him." Dr. Aoi said as he asked the valkyries to report to the stadium to meet with their teammates.

"Interesting." Elize remarked as she finished scanning Shouichi. She handed the report to Dr. Aoi who gave a similar reaction.

"What's wrong with Shouichi?" Chiffon asked still concerned about how her partner was still grunting and in pain.

"There is some sort of energy building up within his body. The magnitude of which is so great that his human body can't handle it. I think he might be evolving further as an Agito." Dr. Aoi said as he went through the report again.

"So is there anything that we can do to help him?" Chiffon asked.

"For now we can only give him painkillers to help stem the pain and hope that he can cope with the energy. Should his condition worsen, I want you to sedate him." Dr. Aoi said as he handed Chiffon some needles containing medicine for Shouichi.

"Right thanks Dr. Anything else?" Chiffon said as she picked up Shouichi to take him back to his room.

"Yeah. He should try and avoid transforming into Agito right now. His body is strained enough as it is." Dr. Aoi said as the pair left.

Chiffon helped Shouichi onto his bed and gave him a glass of water together with the medicine that Dr. Aoi had given to him.

"Are you feeling better now?" Chiffon asked as Shouichi propped himself up against the bed frame.

"A little bit." Shouichi replied weakly.

"Good. I was extremely worried for a moment there. I thought you were going to die or something!" Chiffon said.

"I won't leave you Chiffon and that's a promise. So don't be so worried. Now then who got assigned to team 13?" Shouichi asked as he managed to smile weakly at his partner.

"Satellizer, Rana, Kazuya, Roxanne, Cassie, Charles and their partners." Chiffon said as she checked the rosters for team 13 on his tablet.

"So Roxanne, Cassie and Charles are here too huh? I wonder how they are all doing. I sure wish I could go out to see them right now." Shouichi said disappointed at his current state of weakness.

"Hey don't worry about it. You should rest up. I'm going to go grab something to eat. I'll bring something up for you too." Chiffon said as she smiled and left after helping Shouichi lie down on the bed.

Cafeteria.

Chiffon approached the table where Roxanne, Cassie, Satellizer and Rana were seated.

"Hello everyone." She said with a smile.

"Well if it isn't ms. Monster." Roxanne replied jokingly as Chiffon sat down next to her.

"How have you all been doing? And I thought Charles was supposed to be here as well." Chiffon said.

"Well she was with us but we got into some sort of argument. We're all doing fine. It's great to be able to meet up again under such wonderful circumstances." Cassie responded.

"That's nice to hear. It's great to be able to catch up with the rest of you as well. By the way how are the valkyries?" Chiffon said.

"Let's just say there is a lot of friction between us. Also did you hear that there is going to be a joint training exercise between team 13 and a team of West Genetics pandora. Are you going to be a part of it?" Roxanne responded.

"I see. I hope you guys get along. Anyway I don't really want to participate in the joint training." Chiffon replied.

"Wait why not?" Roxanne asked.

"By the way Chiffon where is your partner?" Cassie asked.

"He isn't feeling to good right now. He is in bed now in fact. His power is spiking right now and it's at a point where his body can't take. That's why I don't want to participate in the joint training. I want to look after him. Anyway, I need to get back to him right away. He is probably starving." Chiffon now had a crestfallen expression on her face as she finished her food and brought up a tray of food with her to give to Shouichi.

"Hey Shouichi, I'm back with food." Chiffon said forcing a smile as she walked into the room. Shouichi was still lying on the bed incapacitated by the pain.

"Thanks Chiffon." He said as he propped himself up so that he could take the tray from her.

"No just relax. I'll feed you." Chiffon said as she pulled up a chair next to his bed and proceeded to feed her injured partner.

"Thanks Chiffon. You truly are an amazing partner. I don't think I could ever wish for someone better." Shouichi said as he gratefully opened his mouth to accept the food. His compliment made Chiffon blush a little.

"Oh by the way how is everyone doing in team 13?" Shouichi asked.

"They are all fine although there is a lot of friction between the team members. Between the valkyrie and pandora is one thing. But Charles is very distant to the rest of them." Chiffon replied.

"They all just need time. Charles especially. I think Alaska was the first time she ever came across pandora willing to disobey orders because of emotions. Someday she will understand I hope." Shouichi replied as Chiffon continued to feed him.

A Few Days Later.

Chiffon was walking towards Shouichi's room with a plate of food. Shouichi had spent the last few days holed up in his room and his condition was not getting any better which made Chiffon very worried. To make matters worse, Chiffon had quite a lot of things to deal with now as Student Council President. Many of the students were unhappy with the special treatment given to platoon 13. In addition, Charles Bonaparte had just been put in detention for severely injuring Attia Simmons. Chiffon had gone to talk to Elizabeth about the incident. Elizabeth was furious at this but she said that she would refrain from taking any action for now but she could not speak for the rest of her friends.

"Hey there Shouichi. Are you feeling any better?" Chiffon asked as she walked in and sat down next to him.

"Not really. Still feel as miserable as ever." he replied clearly weakened by his condition.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of you till you are better. Now let's get some food into you." Chiffon said as she began feeding Shouichi like she always did.

"Hey why so glum sugar plum?" Shouichi asked jokingly realizing the frustration in his partner.

"There are just so many things to worry about right now. First of all, you're incapacitated. Then there is the problem of increasing dissatisfaction between the students with regards to the special treatment of platoon 13. Then there is the problem of Charles grievously injuring Attia." Chiffon said with a sigh as she told her partner about all the problems that had been eating away at her for the past few days.

"I see. Sorry for being such a burden. I wish I could do more to help you." Shouichi said apologetically. Inside he was cursing his condition and the worry he was causing his partner.

"Don't worry. I promised that I would look after you didn't I?" Chiffon said as she pulled Shouichi into her chest and comforted him.

"By the way what happened between Charles and Attia?" Shouichi asked.

"Apparently they got into a fight and Attia was brutally destroyed by Charles." Chiffon replied. She herself did not know the full details of the battle.

"I see. What happened to Charles?" Shouichi asked as Chiffon let go of him.

"She was placed in a detention cell for two days. She is due to be released tomorrow." Chiffon replied.

"What of Elizabeth and her group?" Shouichi said.

"Elizabeth said that she will refrain from taking any action but she cannot guarantee that her friends won't do anything about it." Chiffon said.

"I see. Well then I guess all we can do now is wait and hope I guess." Shouichi said as he lay back down on the bed. Before long he drifted off to sleep because of his weakened condition and Chiffon just stayed there watching over her partner.

The Next Day.

Charles Bonaparte walked out of the detention centre and was greeted by her teammates. She was surprised to see them there but quickly gave them the cold shoulder and turned to leave with her limiter following her. Roxanne stopped her and tried to convince her to go to the infirmary to apologize to Attia but she flat out refused. Then Creo and Ingrid appeared looking for Charles. Sensing that the situation could become hostile at any moment, Cassie and Roxanne immediately tried to diffuse the situation by talking to the two pandora. But they refused to speak and instead started attacking Roxanne and Cassie. Roxanne and Cassie tried their best to not retaliate unless in defense.

Then Arnett appeared and walked up to Charles. She demanded to know what Attia had said to Charles that made her want to injure her so badly. She also asked what Charles had said about Elizabeth.

"Woah there. Let's not get hasty. Charles was just about to go apologize." Roxanne said as she moved between Arnett and Charles.

"You wanna know what I said about Elizabeth? I called her a traitorous bitch. A useless pandora who couldn't follow orders but instead chose to follow her emotions." Charles said to Arnett.

"I see. That's why Attia fought you. She rarely chooses to fight someone she can't beat. She is after all the one to fight using words." Arnett said as her head dropped.

"Apologize dammit. Charles." Roxanne said.

Suddenly Arnett charged at Charles. In a flash she pushed the blunt end of her volt weapon into Roxanne's abdomen sending her to the ground in pain before sending Cassie back with a strike to the ground. Then she approached Charles and the two began fighting in a duel of Accel and Tempest. Their fight continued as neither seemed to be having a clear advantage. However, Arnett was able to easily counter all of Charles' clones. The two then stepped it up and used their own ultimate techniques as their fight could be seen from afar.

Shouichi's room.

"What was that?" Shouichi asked as he got up and looked out the window to see a large explosion nearby.

"I'm sure it was nothing. Probably some pandora fighting." Chiffon responded trying to get her partner to rest once more.

"That isn't some normal battle. It was from the path near the detention centre. I think team 13 might be involved. We have to stop them!" Shouichi said as he got up.

"No you shouldn't be moving! You're going to end up making your condition worse! Do you really wanna throw away your life so recklessly?" Chiffon shouted trying to get her partner to stop.

"I'm sorry but it I let the battle continue, I probably wouldn't be able to live with myself." Shouichi said as he jumped out the window.

"Henshin. Agito Flame." Shouichi shouted as he transformed into his red flame form and ran towards where the battle was. Chiffon chased after him.

Just as Arnett and Charles' volt weapons were about to clash once more, a figure clad in red armor appeared between them with two swords and blocked both of them. Preventing them from hurting each other.

"Agito! Why are you interfering? She deserves to be punished for what she did to Attia." Arnett shouted.

"Both of you! Stop this battle this instant or I am going to burn some sense into both of your heads!" as he shouted those words the crest horns on his two swords opened. Everyone present could feel the buildup of heat in the two blades. Arnett and Charles disengaged their volt weapons and backed off.

"Good. Arnett, I know you're angry but you should not stoop to this level. Show her how strong you are by not giving in to her goading. Elizabeth would never want this. She always took things with a level head." Shouichi said to Arnett as she calmed down.

"Charles, you may think that Elizabeth is weak because she disobeyed her orders and followed her heart instead, but one day you will realize that it's because she was strong that's why she could do such a thing. It takes true strength to know and admit that what one is doing is wrong. I hope one day you can learn to follow your heart as well. After all feelings is what makes us human and not tools of war." Shouichi said as he turned to Charles. Then suddenly he began falling to the ground and used his sword to support himself from falling.

"I hope all of you here understand the importance of being together, after all we all share the same fate in this war." Shouichi said as he turned back to normal. He began coughing up blood. Chiffon who had been watching all this immediately rushed to his side.

"Shouichi-sempai are you alright?" Kazuya asked.

"I'm fine. Fighting 's a little rough in my current condition that's all." Shouichi said as Chiffon helped to support him. Eventually he passed out from the exhaustion. Chiffon began carrying him away.

"I see that's why Ms. Monster has been so busy. Her poor partners in such a sorry state. But still that was extremely reckless of him. Why would he do such a thing?" Roxanne said.

"It's because he sees all of you as his precious friends and can't bear to see all of you so distant to one another. So please do try your best to make up okay?" Chiffon said as she left to take Shouichi back to his room.

Joint Training Exercise Day.

Everyone was gathered in the arena to watch the joint training between team 13 and a team made up of West Genetics pandora. The roster included the world ranked pandora and also some of West Genetics best including Arnett, Elizabeth, Creo, Ingrid and Ticy. Everyone was surprised that Chiffon Fairchild was not participating in the exercise. In fact no one had seen her for the whole day. But those who knew Chiffon personally would know that she had opted out to care for her ill partner.

"Sorry for making you have to babysit me Chiffon." Shouichi said as Chiffon helped him sit up in the bed before she herself got seated next to him.

"I told you this before right Shouichi we look out for one another because we are partners." Chiffon said giving Shouichi a smile. Shouichi in turn smiled back at her. The two then turned their attention to the screen where a live feed of the joint training exercise was being played.

The purpose of the exercise was to see if team 13 could function together with a standard team of pandora. Their task was to eliminate the Type-S nova dummies that had been placed on opposite ends of the arena. Team 13 was able to quickly defeat its assigned target thanks to the prowess of the valkyries and combined might of the world class pandora. Eventually the team from west genetics also managed to destroy their assigned target.

"Well then I guess that's the end of the training exercise." Shouichi said.

"Wait. Something's wrong. The nova dummies aren't stopping." Chiffon remarked as she continued watching the screen.

"Hmm. You're right." Shouichi said as also turned his attention to the screen.

Control Room.

"Stop the nova dummies at once!" Sister Margaret ordered.

"We can't Sister Margaret. They are not responding." One of the operators replied.

"It's no use sister. Such a frequency won't respond to any commands." Dr. Aoi said calmly.

"What are you saying Gengo? Do you know what is happening?" Sister Margaret asked.

"Somewhat. The generators are responding to the stigmata and the dummies are responding to a frequency which only affects certain pandora and the nova. Please have the arena cleared." Dr. Aoi said. Sister Margaret gave the order and all the students who had been observing the exercise from the stands left the arena. Then a black smoke enveloped the arena.

"What is happening?" Chiffon said as she looked at the smoke covered arena. Multiple pandora's vital signs were dropping.

"Chiffon, go. You need to go and help them. Something terrible is coming. I can feel it." Shouichi said as he felt the burning pain returning.

"But what about you?" Chiffon said.

"I'll be fine. Now go and please protect everyone." Shouichi said as he writhed in pain. Chiffon wanted to refuse but she knew she was needed. She immediately ran toward the control centre in order to learn more about what exactly was going on.

"Dr. Aoi what is going on?" Chiffon asked as she reached the control room.

"Hello Chiffon. It's nothing. The faylan generators are within the nova dummies are reacting to the stigmata. This manifests itself as the black smoke. It's making the pandora confront their worst fears. The valkyries are of course unaffected because they do not share a connection with their stigmata." Dr. Aoi responded.

"Then shouldn't we be trying to help them?" Chiffon asked concerned for all her comrades.

"We can't. The black smoke targets each individual uniquely. To an observer, the pandora would seem to just be fighting the air. The only way to overcome this is for the pandora to either confront their fear or weaken their connection to their stigmata." Dr. Aoi responded coldly as he watched the vital signs of several pandora fluctuate. Slowly the situation began stabilizing as the black smoke began to clear. Many pandora were injured or exhausted after fighting their own demons.

"The nova dummies their not responding. Wait one of them is emitting some sort of signa;!" One of the operators shouted.

"What?" Sister Margaret asked.

"Shit. Situation has changed. Have the valkyries prepped to engage the coming nova. Chiffon you might want to prepare to head out as well. They will need all the help they can get. You too Kazuha. I don't think you want Kazuya to get hurt." Dr. Aoi said. The two pandora prepared to make their way down to the arena.

"Just what is going on Dr. Aoi?" Sister Margaret asked.

"The nova dummy just turned into a real nova. And its calling more nova here." Dr. Aoi replied. In a bright flash of light the nova dummy transformed bearing many similarities to a type-S but still significantly different. Behind it was a smaller nova that had the features of human female. Then the large nova began spewing out rock like structures which became ape-like nova seemingly constructed from stone.

"Dr. what are we going to do about this situation? There are so many nova?" Sister Margaret asked obviously worried for her students.

"Relax sister. In case you haven't noticed, Chevalier's strongest pandora isn't here. She went to awaken our salvation. All Chiffon, Kazuha and the valkyries have to do is hold out until she returns." Dr. Aoi remarks as Sister Margaret finally noticed that Su Na Lee hadn't been with them since the start of the exercise.

Battlefield.

Chiffon and Kazuha walked down to the arena and were given updates on the appearance of the new nova. The two decided to split up. Chiffon went to where the west genetics platoon was while Kazuha went to look for her brother and assist platoon 13.

"Is everyone alright?" Chiffon asked as she joined her comrades on the battlefield, her volt weapon deployed on both her hands. She had heard of the new nova brutally ripping apart one of the pandora that they had spawned near and Chiffon wasn't about to let that happen to her friends.

"We'll manage." Elizabeth responded as the team regrouped.

"So what's the plan Chiffon?" Ticy asked.

"Stay alive." Chiffon responded as she tore apart one of the new nova that tried to attack her. She actually struggled a little to rip the nova apart which surprised her. Elsewhere, the others weren't faring as well. Their volt weapons were shattering upon contact with the nova and they couldn't damage the nova.

"Everyone fall back." Chiffon shouted as she activated the more advanced form of her anti-nova and used the shield plates to defend her comrades. She knew they stood little chance against the saurian nova.

"Kazuya!" Kazuha shouted as she approached her brother who was in Satellizer's arms. Seeing that Kazuya was fine, Kazuha turned her attention to the saurian nova. She was surprised when her initial attack failed to do much damage to them. She tried another attack and was able to destroy one of the nova after some difficulty.

"This situation is not favorable for us at all. There is no way regular pandora can stand up to such nova." Kazuha remarked as she turned to see one of the valkyries being overwhelmed by the saurian nova. She tried to rush to her aid but her path was blocked by more saurian nova. Just as Christine Evora thought that she was going to die, Lucy managed to easily cut down the saurian nova despite the rest of the valkyries having trouble with them. Lucy managed to break through and save Christine although she did lose a sizeable chunk of her shoulder.

"Everyone regroup!" Kazuha ordered as she cut down another one of the saurian nova.

Chiffon and team 2 were also having a similar struggle against the saurian nova. The fearsome might of the nova was one thing altogether but they just kept coming from the large nova and they had no way of breaking through to destroy it to stop it from creating more. Chiffon contemplated using her full might against the nova here. But then suddenly machine tornador appeared in its slider mode with Shouichi on it. It landed between the team and the nova.

"Shouichi! What are you doing here? You're in no condition to fight!" Chiffon shouted.

But she received no reply from Shouichi. He just turned around and looked at her with dead eyes. He was in some sort of trance like state. He just turned around to face the nova once more as a belt appeared around his waist. This one was different to his regular one. It had a purple stone which was surrounded by three red points.

"What's wrong with him Chiffon? Does he have some sort of death wish?" Elizabeth asked.

"Shouichi is not himself. He is in some sort of trance." Chiffon replied.

Shouichi began walking toward the nova who just stood still. He pressed the two switches to transform into Agito. Everyone was surprised when he was engulfed in flames and his form was significantly different to all his previous ones. The horns were more ornate and were red rather than gold. His eyes were now yellow. His armor was red and looked much bulkier and more organic compared to his previous forms. He let out a loud feral scream that could be heard throughout the battlefield.

"What is with that form? The energy from it is immense." Arnett said.

"I don't know what it is. I've never seen him like this before." Chiffon said.

"Massive energy signature detected near team 2!" One of the operators in the control room shouted.

"What is it? Another nova? Bring it up on the monitor!" Sister Margaret ordered.

"Checking the signature now. It's Agito." the operator replied as she pulled up the image.

"What is with that form?" Dr. Aoi wondered. He rushed for the book which he now almost always kept nearby him. He flipped through the pages which he had already seen before and was shocked to find a new page in the book.

"Before Agito can achieve the evolution of infinite possibilites, he must first master the form that holds the power leading to infinite possibilities. Burning Form. A form that taps on the raw energies of emotions. The rawness of its power makes Agito become a fearsome and feral warrior." This description was followed by an illustration of Agito in his current form wielding a naginata. All around him was flames.

"What is Chiffon Fairchild's status?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"She's with team 2 right now." an operator responded.

"What was that?" Cassie asked as everyone turned to the source of the scream that they had heard. Everyone could feel the overwhelming power of the newly evolved Agito.

"Look out Shouichi!" Chiffon shouted as one of the saurian nova charged at him.

He just stood there as energy built up in his fist. He punched the nova and in one hit it broke into pieces. Another came after him and he thrust his hand right through the nova. He continued to easily destroyed nova after nova. His power shocking everyone. They could've sworn that some of the saurian nova were bursting into flames whenever he hit them. Then he summoned a weapon from his belt. It unfolded into a large double bladed naginata. He charged through the nova and made his way toward the large nova creating the saurian ones. Each nova he cut just burst into flames. He easily broke though and in one mighty swing destroyed the large nova as it too burst into flames.

"Wow! He beat all of them." Elizabeth said.

"Wait something's wrong." Chiffon said as she noticed that her partner still seemed odd.

Everyone was shocked when he began attacking some of the pandora. They tried to defend against him but in vain as he easily defeated them.

"Chiffon what's wrong with him?" Elizabeth asked as she retreated backwards.

"I don't know. I think he is acting on instinct. Everyone please retreat. I will stop him." Chiffon said as she approached Agito.

"Shouichi please stop this! What happened to you? Let me help you." Chiffon said as she fought with her partner. She was holding out fine but the energy from Agito was starting to affect her gradually. Then she felt the internal conflict within her partner. He wasn't in control. His inner world was a mess.

She disengaged her volt weapons as her comrades tried to protest out of worry for her. She told them all to just stay back. She approached Agito who had stopped attacking. She hugged him as he dropped his naginata and turned back into his human form.

"Thanks Chiffon. And I am sorry." Shouichi said before passing out.

"It's alright now Shouichi. You beat the nova." Chiffon said as she cradled her partner in her arms.

"Roxanne!" Charles shouted. Team 13 was now facing the last remaining nova. The one that resembled a human female. It had somehow taken control of Roxanne. In the last moments of her sanity, Roxanne had taken her own life because she did not want to fight her comrades.

"Satellizer, Rana!" Kazuha shouted as she ordered the other two pandoras to prepare to face the enemy. The power of this new nova was staggering. It easily withstood all of their attacks. What was even more disconcerting was how it always said 'let's play' whenever it attacked.

It turned to Rana who prepared for her attack. Kazuha took the opportunity to try and land a hit on the nova but it was just blocked off by some sort of invisible shield. As Kazuha recovered from being knocked backwards, she looked up in horror to see Rana with her arms ripped off. After downing Rana, the nova turned its attention to Satellizer. It just looked at her as a large wound appeared at her abdomen. Then it appeared in front of her and knocked her aside. Kazuya in shock had cast a freezing field on the nova but it didn't have any effect on it. The nova turned an began walking toward Kazuya. Just as it was about to strike him down, Kazuha jumped in front of him to block the strike. She could barely withstand the force of the attack.

"Kazuya, please run away." Kazuha said as she struggled to hold back the nova.

"No nee-san I won't leave you here to die." Kazuya replied. He wasn't about to leave his treasured sister behind.

"I'm sorry I can't let you play with the Kazuya and Kazuha. But you can play with me instead." A voice said as a giant hammer smashed into the nova and sent it flying backwards.

"Who are you?" Kazuha asked as she looked up to see the pink haired girl that had attacked the nova.

"You two don't remember your family?" the girl said. Then she released energy from her war hammer. Healing everyone.

"I can't believe it. I really am immortal." Said a surprised Roxanne Elipton. She had just been a pair of legs before but now she had been brought back life although she was naked.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again you stupid zombie lady!" Charles shouted as she jumped at Roxanne who patted her head in response.

"Look out!" Kazuya shouted to the pink haired girl.

"Huh?" she said turning around. The nova had somehow recovered and fired a particle beam right at her face. Everyone looked in horror.

"Alright. I've had enough of you." The pink haired girl said. Everyone was shocked that she had survived the nova's attack unscathed. She swung her hammer and split the nova in two. Stopping it for good.

"Just who are you?" Kazuya asked.

"I told you we are family Kazuya and Kazuha." The pink haired girl.

"Wait can you explain what you mean by that?" Kazuha asked.

"I think I can explain all this." A voice said. everyone turned to see that Dr. Aoi had arrived. He was being followed by two other pandora in addition to Su Na Lee. There were three helicopters behind him.

"But first let's get to team two and see how they are." Dr. Aoi said as he walked toward where the team from West Genetics was. He was pleased to see that they were all safe. He asked everyone to board the helicopters. He went aboard the first one and asked Kazuya to follow him. Satellizer and Rana wanted to follow him as well but were told that Dr. Aoi needed private time with his grandchildren.

"So grandfather, what is the meaning of this? Who are these people?" Kazuya asked as he looked around at the passengers of the helicopter. Onboard it were the three new pandora, Kazuha, Lucy, Dr. Aoi, Chiffon and an unconscious Shouichi.

"Chiffon, how is Shouichi holding up?" Dr. Aoi asked dodging the question.

"He's fine right now Dr. But that new form of his. He was completely out of control." Chiffon said as she recounted the might of her partners new form.

"Yes. I know. It's a form powered by the rawest of all energy forms, emotion. I hope he recovers soon and figures out how to control his new powers. They might be key in the coming battles." Dr. Aoi said.

"Grandfather, could you please answer Kazuya's question on who the three new pandora are?" Kazuha said.

"I wanted to leave this till we landed but, the three of them, Windy May, Cassandra, Teslad and the two of them, Lucy and Chiffon, are the girls of lab 13. They are the legendary pandora and they are your aunts." Dr. Aoi replied calmly as he introduced the three pandora. The revelation left both Kazuya and Kazuha shocked.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6-Shining**

"Grandfather, what do you mean by that?" Kazuya asked in disbelief.

"Yeah grandfather. I don't remember dad having any relatives and mom's sister is Ouka's mother." Kazuha said.

"So the two of you really don't remember huh. I can understand Kazuya not remembering but I think you should at least be able to remember something Kazuha." Dr. Aoi responded calmly.

"But anyway, it is as I have already said. They are your aunts. They are also legendary pandora. They are hundreds maybe thousands of times stronger than regular pandora. But I will tell you all more tomorrow. You two should get some rest." Dr. Aoi said as the helicopter landed.

"Where are we grandfather? Kazuha asked as she got off the helicopter.

"And where is everyone else?" Kazuya asked as he wondered where the other two helicopters had gone.

"Relax we are at my own private base. Everyone else should already be here. But the two of you are staying in a separate block from the rest. Don't worry I'll let you meet them soon. Now Su Na Lee will show you to your rooms." Dr. Aoi said. Su Na Lee lead the way as the two siblings followed close behind.

"Right now Chiffon can you help take Shouichi to the infirmary so that I can do a full medical check on him?" Dr. Aoi asked as Chiffon helped to move the unconscious Shouichi to where the Dr. had ordered her to.

"Interesting it seems that his body is still suffering from the energy stored within him. All we can do now is watch and see if he can push through this phase." Dr. Aoi said as he looked through the medical reports of Shouichi after running a full battery of tests on him.

"Will he be waking up any time soon?" Chiffon asked with concern.

"I don't know. His transformation into his feral burning form did a number on his body. His condition is even worse than it was before. I'm hoping that he wakes up in a few days but I cannot be sure." Dr. Aoi replied.

"I see. Is there really nothing we can do to help him?" Chiffon asked once more.

"I know you're worried but the best thing we can do now is to let him rest. I think you should stay with him to keep him company. Give him hope." Dr. Aoi said as he left Chiffon there with Shouichi. She sat down next to him clutching his hand tightly hoping that he would wake up soon.

The Next Day. Dr. Aoi's Office.

"So grandfather would you care to explain everything to us now?" Kazuya asked his grandfather. Around him were the five pandora that Dr. Aoi had called the legendary pandora including Chiffon and Lucy.

"Yes I too want to know the truth." Kazuha said.

"Very well then. The legendary pandora or the girls of lab 13, are pandora made directly from the genes of maria lancelot. They have stigmata bodies just like the two of you except of a much higher percentage. The exact percentage of their bodies made up of stigmata tissue varies. Chiffon was the first to be awakened because her condition stabilized first. I awakened Lucy to join the valkyries. I awakened the last three once I deemed them stable enough." Dr. Aoi replied.

"So that's why the picture dated 40 years ago..." Kazuha said.

"But that still does not explain why they are family." Kazuya said. He was still obviously confused by everything

"Simple they are the decedents of Maria Lancelot and are therefore my daughters and by extension your aunts." Dr. Aoi replied.

"Wait why is Maria Lancelot a part of this?" Kazuya asked.

"Because your true grandmother is actually Maria Lancelot. The only woman that I have ever loved. The other woman was just a cover-up so the media would not suspect anything. That's why your father had a stigmatic body and that's why the two of you have stigmatic bodies as well. They are the gifts from Maria." Dr. Aoi replied

"That would explain a lot." Kazuha said nodding her head as she processed the information.

"What, nee-san how can any of this make sense to you? It's impossible. You talk about family and yet these 'things' you call daughters are nothing more than tools you created for the war!" Kazuya shouted as he stormed off. Kazuha just sighed and went to chase after her younger brother.

Kazuya ran out of the block and sat down next to a tree trying to process everything that his grandfather had just told him. He was so confused. Everything just did not make sense to him anymore. He felt like he was just being used by his grandfather. He looked up to see Kazuha approaching him.

"Are you all right Kazuya?" Kazuha asked as she sat down next to him.

"I'm fine nee-san. I'm just confused that's all. Aren't you confused too about all this?" Kazuya asked his sister.

"Not really. I've just sort of come to terms with the fact that nothing coming from grandfather should be a surprise anymore. Besides, I knew father had a stigmatic body I just never knew where it came from. And I have a feeling I have met the blond pandora, the one called Cassandra before. But Idon't remember." Kazuha said as she tried to comfort her brother.

"But how can you just accept them as family? They were just created in a lab by grandfather they aren't human?" Kazuya responded.

"Are you sure? They seem pretty human to me. Look it doesn't matter where they came from. What matters is that they are related to us and they really do care about us. Look they are all so worried about you that they even came out here to see if you were alright." Kazuha said as she asked for her little brother to look up and see all five of his aunts coming towards them.

"Why are all of you here? Kazuya asked.

"It's because we were worried about you." Windy May said.

"But how did you know where to find me?" Kazuya asked.

"It's because we all share stigmata body that's why we can feel and understand each other better." Lucy responded.

"But why would you all care?" Kazuya asked again.

"It's simple silly. It's because we are all family. That's why we care." Chiffon said while smiling serenely at him.

"But how can you be family? You're just tools created by grandfather. Copies of Maria Lancelot!" Kazuya shouted angrily.

"So what then is your definition of family? If we are just copies of Maria Lancelot, then does that not make you merely a copy of Ryuichi?" Lucy spoke again.

"Wait what?" Kazuya said confused as he slumped to the ground.

"There, there. Everything's alright." Cassandra spoke as she held Kazuya in her arms and pushed his head into her ample bust. Her words were short but helped to calm him down greatly. He felt a familiar warmth from her embrace. It felt like he was home again.

"Wait now I remember! Aunt Cassandra was the one who gave birth to you and raised you when mom couldn't. Technically she is your mother Kazuya." Kazuha said as she recalled some of the memories from her childhood.

"Yes. She did. And she was the most worried out of all of us for you." Chiffon replied.

"I'm so sorry. All of you really do care and really are family. I was so naive. I was confused about everything." Kazuya said as he apologized for how badly he had been treating his aunts.

"It's all right Kazuya. We love both of you and nothing can ever change that." Windy May said. The group then turned back toward the building. Chiffon went back to the infirmary to check on how Shouichi was doing.

"Hey Shouichi would you please wake up? You've been out for two whole days. Could you at least tell me how you are feeling?" Chiffon asked as she sat down next to her unconscious partner. She clutched his hand tightly hoping that he would wake up. Then she felt his body begin to move as he began coughing.

"Hey...Chiffon...I'm...sorry...for...everything." He said between spastic coughs.

"Are you alright Shouichi? Do you need something?" Chiffon asked with concern.

"No... My... body... it... still... burns... I don't... know if... I can make it... through this. This power...I can't control it...It's eating away at me." Shouichi said as he continued to cough and his body continued spasming.

"Tell me how I can help you. I am your partner after all. I'm supposed to help you." Chiffon said as tears starting rolling down her cheeks.

"I don't.. think you can...I'm sorry...for hurting you." Shouichi said as he sunk bank into unconsciousness.

"Shouichi!" Chiffon shouted as she tried to get her partner to wake up again. But he had slumped back into his coma. Nothing she tried worked.

Seeing that there was nothing that she could do for her partner right now, Chiffon wiped her tears and left the infirmary. Her worry still present as she left to rejoin her sister and her nephew and niece.

"Wait you want us to do what?" Kazuya asked again still in shock at his grandfather's request.

"You heard me. I want you to take your aunts out for a trip to the city." Dr. Aoi replied annoyed that he had to repeat his instructions.

"Very well then grandfather. I'm sure we will all have a great time as family." Kazuha replied as she pulled her brother out of the office.

"You sure about this nee-san? I mean Lucy and Chiffon are okay with people but what about the other three? I mean Cassandra rarely speaks and Teslad hasn't spoken at all." Kazuya said as he was being pulled out of the office.

"Come on Kazuya what's the worst that could happen? Now that our aunts are back they need to learn to adapt and live as regular people. I mean they may be pandora and extremely powerful ones too but they are still people." Kazuha replied. She did not know how much of an interesting time their family outing would turn out to be.

The family outing turned to be one massive headache for Kazuha and Kazuya as they had to diffuse a very difficult situation. Cassandra had somehow become attached to a lost child and refused to let the child go when the child's mother asked for the child to be returned. In fact she came close to lashing out at the child's mother. Thankfully Windy May managed to convince Cassandra to let the child go much to Kazuha and Kazuya's relief. After taking their aunts window shopping, the family was now enjoying some ice cream as they were walking around. Kazuha noticed that Chiffon was looking a little down as she tended to walk a little behind the others and so she decided to approach her aunt to find out what was going on.

"Hey Aunt Chiffon, why are you looking so down?" Kazuha asked as she licked at her ice cream

"Huh.. Oh hello Kazuha. It's nothing. And if you don't mind please just call me Chiffon. I feel so old when you call me aunt." Chiffon replied as her attention focused to her niece.

"You seem to be really down lately. Is it about your partner Shouichi?" Kazuha asked trying to get her aunt to feel better.

"Yes it is. I just feel like such a useless partner to him. He has always been the one to shoulder the pain. And now when he is in pain I can't help him at all. I just feel so useless." Chiffon said as she vented all her frustrations to her niece as a single tear ran down her eye.

"That's just the way Shouichi has always been. He doesn't mind getting hurt for the sake of others because he doesn't want others to hurt. I think that's why he is in so much pain. He's never learnt to fight with emotions before. He's always just held everything back for the sake of others. I think just having you by his side is good enough for him." Kazuha said.

"Holding in emotions, huh. Thanks for helping get that off me Kazuha." Chiffon replied as she smiled back at her niece.

"No problem Chiffon you can always talk to me. Anyway it's getting late. We should head back to prepare for the part tonight. It's going to be so much fun!" Kazuha said as she went back up to the front of the group and told everyone that it was time to return back.

As the group returned back to the base, Kazuha and Kazuya went to help prepare their aunts for the party while Chiffon left to see Shouichi in the infirmary.

"Hi there Shouichi. How are you feeling now? I hope you wake up soon. Anyway I have to go get ready for the party soon. Maybe the secret to your new powers isn't to control them but to just let the power flow." Chiffon said as she gripped her partner's hand tightly. She glanced at the clock and realized that she had to make to prepare for the party and so she left Shouichi but not before placing a kiss on his cheeks.

The party was a very grand one. Everyone had a great time. Although Lucy, Teslad, Windy May and Rana were nowhere to be found. Everyone was having a good time and Cassandra had also passed out because she was drunk. Chiffon was sitting down with her friends from genetics. Kazuya was given some private time with Satellizer while Kazuha was also with the genetics students.

"So ms. monster turns out to be one of the legendary pandora. Not surprising given how strong you are." Elizabeth said.

"That still doesn't change the fact that I am still a student of West Genetics." Chiffon said as she smiled at all her friends. She was seated with Elizabeth, Ticy, Arnett and their limiters.

"Hey Chiffon are you still worried about Shouichi?" Ticy asked as she noticed the worry in her good friend.

"Yes. He still hasn't woken up from the battle and I think he blames himself for losing control and injuring all of us." Chiffon said with a crestfallen expression.

"I think you should stop worrying so much about him Chiffon. After all Shouichi has a strong heart. He won't be beaten by something like this. After all he is the only one crazy enough to stop a fight when he while nearly incapacitated." Arnett said.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. We just need to give him time." Chiffon said as the smile returned to her face.

Then the alarm was sounded throughout the facility. Intruders had managed to find their way into the base and all pandora had been told to retreat while the legendary pandora were told to engage the intruders.

"Dr. Aoi are you sure about this order? I mean after all they are just 4 pandora." Su Na Lee asked Dr. Aoi who had jsut issued the order for the pandora to retreat.

"Yes. Those 4, they aren't regular pandora. They have a unique form of plasma stigmata. One that is designed to maximize combat potential without any consideration for the side effects. Those girls could easily self destruct at any time. I'd estimate their combat potential as being at least equal to Chiffon Fairchild. The worst part is they all look like they could kill without a second thought. No they look like they enjoy killing." Dr. Aoi responded.

"Then shouldn't we consider retreating?" Su Na Lee asked.

"No that would only leave us exposed. Also that would set us back quite a bit in terms of project progress. Besides, this would be the safest place given the legendary pandora all being here. In addition, should Shouichi awaken, then I don't think we will have a problem with them anymore." Dr. Aoi remarked.

"I think all of you should get going now." Chiffon said.

"No we won't leave you to fight alone." Ticy rebutted.

"Don't be insane. If the Dr. says that pandora shouldn't be fighting against the intruders then they obviously shouldn't." Chiffon said as she ordered her friends to make their way to safety.

Just then the wall burst open to reveal four pandora. One of them Petty Layner, had a very close resemblance to Yu mi Kim. The other, Isabella Lucas, had tanned skin and blonde hair. her eyes were closed just like Chiffon. The third one, Jessica Edwin had long red hair and snake like eyes. The last one Sawatari Isuzu had long wavy pink hair. Sawatari left her three compatriots to deal with them while she went off to find their actual target.

"What is this feeling? It is as if my stigmata are telling me to run. It is as though any resistance to the three of them is futile." Elizabeth asked

"That's why the all of you should leave now." Chiffon said as she deployed her volt weapon prepared to face the three of them. She looked around to see that her sister, Cassandra was drunk and had passed out while her other three sisters were nowhere to be found.

Before Chiffon could do anything however, Morrison and Andre cast their freezing fields at the intruders. That had little effect as the three of them easily broke free of the field before Elizabeth used her SSS to fire beams at them which the three busters were easily able to dodge. Arnett and Satellizer then charged in. Their tempest accel initially caught Petty by surprise but she saw through their skill soon enough and managed to grab onto their volt weapons. Then everyone was shocked when she used her bare hands to destroy Arnett and Satellizer's volt weapons. She was just about to land an attack on the two of them when Chiffon charged at her.

"Both of you pull back right now. The busters are way out of your league!" Chiffon shouted to Arnett and Satellizer as she forced Petty back to where her two other comrades were.

"Oho if it isn't the number one pandora in the world, the smiling monster Chiffon Fairchild. I wonder is your monstrous power for real or have all the kids been getting softer. You are after all supposed to be one of Gengo Aoi's trump cards." Petty said as she deployed her volt weapon to fight Chiffon.

"I think you all should leave now. We'd just get in their way." Kazuha said as she turned to the others. _Dammit. Why is Cassandra out cold from being drunk at a time like this._

"I refuse to abandon Chiffon!" Ticy said, adamant on staying where they were.

Pool Area.

"Hmm what was that?" Rana asked as she heard explosions coming from nearby. She had been at the pool the whole time together with three of the legendary pandora.

"I think we should go." Rana said as she turned to Windy May and her sisters.

"Huh. But I am having so much fun here. I don't wanna go." Windy May said as she made a pouting face.

"Come on Windy May-san. We should follow our orders. If you follow them I promise to show you how to play some board games later on." Rana said as Windy may agreed.

"There you are! The three of you are to prepare to engage the intruders immediately. I just received word that they are in the main hall and are fighting Chiffon as we speak." one of the chevalier pandora said as she barged in. Rana equpped her volt texture after taking off her swimsuit and Windy asked if she should strip as well. Then suddenly Sawatari came crashing through the window.

"Well, well, just my luck I get to test out Gengo Aoi's new toys. And get to see for myself just how strong you legendary pandora are!" Sawatari shouted. The next thing she knew was that a large object had impacted her face and sent her to the ground. Windy May had deployed her warhammer and charged straight at the buster as soon as she appeared.

"I think you should surrender or retreat. You have no chance of winning here de arimasu." Rana said as she deployed her volt weapon.

"Hahaha. You sure about that little girl?" Sawatari said. She began floating as she was incased in some sort of energy sphere and began to generate a powerful freezing field shocking everyone as they couldn't move.

Command Center.

"Shit! Call everyone to retreat! Priority to the legendary pandora especially Cassandra, Windy May and Teslad!" Dr. Aoi said.

"Wait why?" Su Na Lee asked shocked by the change in the Dr.'s demeanor.

"If we don't get those three at least away from the battle, it could mean the end of humanity. That Raddox! He probably added that feature in just to counter freezing fields. He has no idea what a freezing truly is. Prepare anything for us to get out of here after retrieving the legendary pandora." Dr. Aoi barked out his orders.

"What is happening Dr.?" Su Na Lee asked confused.

"Chiffon and Lucy are unlikely to be affected but the other three legendary pandora, sisters 001-003 were created much stronger than them. And so the call of the nova to destroy humanity is even stronger within them. That freezing field could turn them into nova." Dr. Aoi said.

"Dr. Shouichi Tsugami has just walked out of the infirmary. Bringing up a visual now!" one of the pandora in the room said as she showed a feed of Shouichi getting out of his coma and walking out.

"So now we could potentially have another problem to deal with or the solution to everything. Has he truly awakened or is he just acting on instinct. What is the situation in the main hall?" Dr. Aoi asked. Everyone watched the scene in horror.

Petty held Chiffon's head in her hand. She was completely beaten. Her body was bruised and bleeding. She even had both her gauntlet's deployed.

"Chiffon!" Ticy shouted as she wanted to jump in to help her best friend.

"Don't do anything stupid Ticy. The busters they are too strong for any of you." Chiffon said weakly as she kicked herself free of Petty's grip.

"Oho so you still have some fight left in you huh? That's good. At least you're not as weak as I thought you were." Petty said as she charged at Chiffon who had activated the full form of her anti-nova.

The two of them battled once more as now Chiffon could gain an upper hand against her. But she forgot Petty wasn't the only one. She was distracted momentarily as she blocked a particle beam. She lost sight of Petty who reappeared right in front of her hitting her hard enough to send her to the ground. She stepped on Chiffon's abdomen preventing her from moving.

"Chiffon!" Kazuha shouted worried about what the busters were about to do to her.

"So this is the limit of your power? This is pathetic. For one of Gengo Aoi's trump cards to only be this strong. Why don't I have a little fun with you ms. monster before I kill you." Petty said.

"If any of you move, I'm going to blast her head clean off." Isabella said as she pointed one of her canons directly at Chiffon's head. She pointed the other one straight at the other genetics pandora.

**Warning: Sexual Abuse. Skip to next Bold Line to carry on with actual plot**

Everyone watched on in horror as they could not move as Petty disrobed and tore Chiffon's clothes off exposing her body. Petty straddled Chiffon as her hands roamed around Chiffon's exposed body. Tears streamed down Chiffon's face as her body was violated by her opponent and there was nothing she could do about it. If she moved, her friends would be hurt. If they tried to aid her she'd get hurt instead. All she could do was cry and close her eyes hoping that this was all just a terrible nightmare.

"What are you doing to Chiffon? Stop you monster!" Elizabeth shouted as everyone felt so powerless to help their friend.

"Heh, monster huh, how apt since we just down the smiling monster after all. Your tears taste so delicious my dear." Petty replied as she licked Chiffon's tears relishing in delight at her suffering.

"Please, if you're going to kill me just do it already." Chiffon pleaded. She didn't really care about herself she just wanted to make sure that none of her friends got hurt.

"Now, now my dear, that would just me ending the fun too quickly. I want to hear you scream. I want to hear and see you cry out more I want you to taste utter despair." Petty said as she slipped her fingers into Chiffon.

"No please anything but that!" Chiffon cried out as she felt completely violated. She screaming out in horror now at the abuse of her opponent and more tears were streaming down her face.

"Yes that's it I want to hear more of that delightful scream of yours. It is melody to my ears." Petty shouted in delight as she continued to finger Chiffon.

"Oho what's this, did you just climax from being sexually assaulted by your opponent? What a delightful little plaything you are." Petty said as she pulled her fingers out of the crying Chiffon as she continued to lick Chiffon's tears.

"So how do you think you taste?" Petty said as she shoved her fingers now wet with Chiffon's juices into Chiffon's mouth.

"Well then I think it's time you pleasure me now ms. monster." Petty said as she got off Chiffon. She was about to bring her body down to Chiffon so that she could trib the, now unconscious due to shock, pandora who still had tears streaming down her face.

**Plot Continues Here.**

"Stop right there. I won't let you hurt my partner anymore!" Shouichi shouted as he charged at the two busters onboard the machine tornador. He was already in his burning form. He delivered a swift burning punch to Petty's face sending her backwards before slashing at Isabella forcing her to dodge backwards.

"It's alright now Chiffon. They won't be hurting anyone anymore." Shouichi said soothingly to his partner as he picked her up in his hands and placed her on the machine tornador.

"Shouichi...but how?" Chiffon said weakly as she felt herself being placed on the machine tornador.

"I heard your voice. You were right. The way to master the power wasn't to control it. I just had to let it out." Shouichi said as he comforted his still crying partner.

"That's good to hear. I am glad to see that you're back now." Chiffon said managing a weak smile.

"Shh. just rest now. I'll handle everything." Shouichi said as the machine tornader left and carried Chiffon to where the other pandora were. He turned around to face the busters with his dual bladed naginata in his left arm.

"And just who are you?" Petty asked as she recovered.

"I am Agito. And for what you people have done, I cannot forgive." Shouichi said his voice laced with killing intent and filled with rage.

"Is that so? We'll just turn you to ash first then before we carry on with our fun with that girl." Isabella shouted as she fired a particle beam. Everyone including the busters were shocked when Agito just swatted the beam into the sky like it was nothing.

"Heh, I actually feel fearful. He radiates power like nothing else." Petty said as she readied herself to attack Agito.

"What is this massive power I am feeling from Shouichi? It's even greater than what I felt when he fought the saurian nova." Arnett remarked.

"It's rage. He's converting all his rage at seeing them torture Chiffon into pure energy. And he's not trying to restrain it." Kazuha replied as she too could feel the overwhelming power that Shouichi was radiating in his burning form.

Agito charged straight at the three busters brandishing his naginata at them. Each and every one of his slashes was empowered by the flames of rage as the busters were forced on the defensive. They were barely able to dodge his strikes. He burning punched Petty once more. Despite the enormous power he wielded, he still could not defeat the busters. They were starting to be able to anticipate his moves. Even though he wielded immense power in his burning form, he still fought like an animal and that made him predictable. Eventually they were able to easily avoid his attacks and began landing hits of their own. Isabella changed from firing particle beams to fine whip like blasts which she could manipulate. Agito was bare able to dodge her attack as a direct hit from Petty set him backwards.

"You have immense power I'll give you that. But it is useless if you can't hit your opponent." Petty said. All the busters were bruised from fighting Agito but they could now predict their moves and so he wouldn't be able to land anymore hits.

"No way, they can match his strength even in burning form?" Kazuha said in disbelief.

"Well then. It looks like this is as far as this form goes I guess. If this was my limit then I'd probably lose. But unfortunately, I am an Agito, my evolution taps limitless possibility!" Shouichi said as he stabbed his naginata into the ground. He moved his hand to his side as the purple gem in his began to glow as cracks began to appear in his armor.

"Wait what's happening to him?" Arnett asked.

"It can't be... Has he really achieved the evolution of endless possibility?" Kazuha wondered out loud.

"Well girls I think we may have just awoken something terrible." Isabella remarked.

Agito's burning form continued cracking as eventually the armor peeled off and a bright white light enveloped him. As the light began to subside, Agito was now in a much sleeker form. His head remained the same but his armor resembled his original golden ground form except the armor was silver with intricate markings with a red trim. The stone in the center of his chest was now yellow. "Agito, Shining." Shouichi said.

"Wait, that massive power he had before, it's gone. I still can feel the power of the busters, but I can't feel anything from Shouichi." Elizabeth commented.

"You call that an evolution? That crushing power you had it is all gone. Just how do you think that form is going to save you against us?" Isabella boasted.

"Let's end him already." Petty said as she charged straight at Agito with her volt weapon deployed. Everyone was shocked when Agito just raised his arm to block her attack with ease before launching his own counter attack in the form of a blinding flurry of punches so fast no one could see how many hits he had landed.

"Agito, Shining punch!" Shouichi shouted as his right fist began to glow white and he delivered the finishing blow to Petty, sending her slamming into the ground.

"What was that? How did he manage to do that? I still feel nothing from him." Isabella said in disbelief.

"Have the two of you figured it out yet or are you still going to attempt to fight me?" Agito said calmly. There was no emotion in his voice.

"Don't get cocky you bastard. Petty probably let her guard down. Eat this." Isabella shouted as she fired a huge particle beam directly at Agito. Everyone was shocked when Agito just raised his hand to stop the incoming particle beam which just dissipated into nothing. Everyone was even more surprised when he clenched his hand into a fist and fired a particle beam back at Isabella although she was barely able to dodge it.

"Oho? I missed. I guess I'm still not good at using this form yet." Shouichi remarked calmly.

"What did he just do?" Arnett asked.

"He dissipated the particle beam then fired one of his own?" Elizabeth wondered in shock.

"No he didn't I think that this form, it centers around energy manipulation. He can control and draw energy from anywhere and control it. He doesn't have the reserves he once had because he doesn't need them. He can tap energy so quickly and use it to augment himself that we can barely see anything. That particle beam he fired back was the same one the busters fired at him. He just absorbed it then redirected it back at them." Kazuha replied as she explained what she understood of Agito's new form from her observations.

"Bingo. Shining form was attained because I finally learnt to use the last source of energy besides the elements. That's why burning form was its precursor." Shouichi said.

"So we really have awoken some sort of monster," Isabella said with a smirk.

"No do you still wish to continue? I can let you live while I still have a shred of mercy within me." Shouichi said.

"Heh. We still have out final trump card! Now Jessica!" Isabella shouted to her comrade who was incased in some sort of energy sphere and began to generate a powerful freezing field shocking everyone as they couldn't move. The limiters were unable to counter this field.

"Shit! Cassandra is still here! Agito, shining kick" Shouichi shouted as he charged straight at Jessica and delivered a flying kick to her abdomen, ending her. The anti-freezing field dissipated but it was too late as Cassandra got up, her eyes now just like a nova's.

"Oh well, I guess it's time for me to blow this place. Don't hold it against me but I think you all have problems of your own now!" Isabella said as she tried to escape. AS she ran away, she felt her world go dark as she was cut in half from the waist up by Agito who had hurled his naginata at her.

"I told you before that the three of you weren't going to leave this place alive." Shouichi said coldly as he watched Isabella's body drop lifelessly to the ground.

"What happened to aunt Cassandra?" Kazuya asked.

"She's turned into a nova. One of unrivalled power." Shouichi said as he defended everyone from a particle beam that Cassandra fired.

"But why would she turn into a nova?" Kazuha asked in disbelief.

"Because pandora essentially have nova tissue in them and the greater the amount the stronger the call of the nova to destroy humanity becomes. That anti-freezing amplified the call, forcing her to turn into a nova." Shouichi said as he blocked another particle beam.

"Destroy all humans." Cassandra said as multiple dimensional anomalies occurred around her and she turned into a beacon for four humanoid nova to appear.

"This is not good. Windy May and Teslad have also reverted into nova. I can feel the valkyries, Lucy and Rana Linchen fighting with them as we speak. Windy May killed the fourth buster as soon as she reverted." Shouichi said as he blocked another attack from Cassandra.

"But how can we stop them?" Kazuha asked.

"There is no we in this. Only you can stop them Kazuya. You and your unparalled freezing can bring an end to this problem." Shouichi replied as he sent one of the humanoid nova flying with a kick.

"But how?" Kazuya asked again.

"I think you remember what I said and the vents of Alaska much better than I do." Shouichi responded as he forced the other three humanoid nova back to where he had sent the previous one.

"I'll try." Kazuya responded as he prepared to deploy an omni-directional freezing field.

"There is no try. Only do. Everyone else is to give Kazuya cover. I'll deal with the humanoid nova." Shouichi said. He called his naginata to him and split them into two blades as he moved to where the humanoid nova where.

"Agito, shining caliber clash!" Shouichi shouted as energy built up at his feet and his twin blades glowed white. Everyone who was watching the battle was shocked when he began moving so quickly around the four humanoid nova while delivering slashes to them. It seemed like a white fragon was snaking and constricting the humanoid nova. He reappeared on the opposite side of the humanoid nova who had their attention solely focused on him.

"Agito, shining dragon kick!" Shouichi shouted as white dragon symbols appeared in the air in front of each humanoid nova. He did a flying kick straight at the humanoid nova as each dragon symbol dissipated as he passed through. Each symbol empowering his kick to destroy the humanoid nova. It looked like a white dragon was eating the humanoid nova.

He turned around to see that Kazuya had managed to cast a freezing field on Cassandra and his feelings had managed to reach out to her and he was able to cause her to return back to normal. Shouichi saw a wonderful sight as Kazuya ran up to the now normal Cassandra and gave her a hug and called her mother.

"Alright then we can celebrate later. We need to go lend a hand to the valkyires and stop Teslad and Windy May." Shouichi ordered as everyone followed him to the pool area where the other two legendary pandora, now redesignated nova were.

When they got there, they saw Lucy barely able to hold her own against Teslad while the valkyries and Rana Linchen were struggling to fight against Windy May.

"What do we do now Shouichi-sempai?" Kazuya asked.

"Same thing you did with Cassandra, except now with the two of them." Shouichi replied.

"I don't think my freezing is strong enough." Kazuya said doubtful that the same thing would work on two of the legendary pandora at the same time.

"Of course not. You won't be able to pull this off alone." Shouichi replied calmly.

"Wait then what?" Kazuya asked. The valkyries were running out of time. And there was no way Rana could hold her own against Windy May.

"Cassandra, could I get some energy from you to boost Kazuya's freezing field to save your sisters?" Shouichi asked nonchalantly. Despite the situation, he was still extremely calm. Cassandra just nodded acknowledging his request.

"Alright then Kazuya if you would do your thing." Shouichi said as he placed one arm on Kazuya's shoulder and the other on Cassandra's shoulder. Kazuya cast out his omni-directional freezing field. At first he felt like it wouldn't be strong enough to stop his other two aunts. As he felt him reaching his limit he felt an immense amount of energy available for him to tap on as his freezing field expanded.

"But how, I feel like there is no limit to what my freezing can do right now." Kazuya said as he marveled at the new power.

"It's because I'm pulling power from Cassandra and putting it into you to help make your freezing field stronger." Shouichi replied as Kazuya turned to see him glowing brighter.

"Now hurry up and do your thing. I can't keep this up forever." Shouichi responded as Kazuya turned his attention back to his two aunts.

"Aunt Windy! Aunt Teslad! Please get a hold of yourselves! Please come back! Come back for me and Kazuha! Come back for grandfather!" Kazuya shouted as he put all his emotions into his freezing field to try and reawaken his aunts. Eventually he got through as both WIndy May and Teslad fell to the ground.

"What happened? I don't remember anything." Windy May said as she got up. Teslad got up as well but was a usual stoic self.

"It's been a long night. Now that it's over, let's all enjoy the coming dawn." Shouichi said as he turned back into his human form and walked back toward the main hall.

"Mother." Kazuya shouted as she hugged Cassandra again. Everyone there was shocked by what she had called Cassandra.

"Heh it looks like the freezing works two ways. Kazuya saw back into Cassandra's past and knows his true connection to her now." Kazuha said with a giggle as she checked up on her two other aunts.

Shouichi approached Chiffon who was still lying on the machine tornader. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms, trying to console her and repair the damage that the busters had done to her.

"It's alright now, Chiffon. Everyone is safe. We've won." Shouichi said as he pulled her closer to him.

"I'm sorry Shouichi I was so weak." Chiffon replied still crying.

"Don't say that. You will always be the strongest and best in my eyes. Now rest. You've earned it for all you've gone through." Shouichi said as he carried Chiffon to the infirmary.

"Are you back for good?" Chiffon asked weakly.

"Yes I am. And I promise I'll never leave your side or let anyone make you cry ever again." He replied as he smiled at her. She smiled weakly back at him.

**A/N: And that's the final chapter of Agito's upgrades. This will be the last chapter for sometime because I have other piling commitments. There should be two more chapters after but I dunno when I will have the chance to do them. So as thanks for all the support, I released this chapter and the previous one as fast as I could. Till next time guys. Thanks for all the support including to my other two fanfics. I have at least two more planned so do look out for them when they come out. The next one is another freezing crossover featuring Kamen Rider Kabuto.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Yes finally able to update this fanfic after quite some time. My longest single chapter ever. Yay. Do enjoy and leave reviews if you can. Constructive ones are especially appreciated. One Last Chapter to go as this Fanfic is about to hit its conclusion. Hpefully I can have the last chapter up by May latest. School is a burden**

**Chapter 7- Returning Memories**

Shouichi woke up from the bed and rubbed his sleepy eyes. He turned to see his partner sleeping right next to him and smiled at her angelic features as she slept. She had a smile on her face now. He recalled how scarred she had been in the aftermath of the busters assault. Her physical injuries were quick to heal but the mental scars left by the sexual abuse of the busters had taken days. Occasionally she would still suffer a relapse as she recalled the painful memories. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before running his hand through her hair. She began to stir as she sleepily rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning Shouichi. How are you feeling today?" Chiffon asked sweetly as she stared at her partner.

"I'm fine Chiffon. I should be the one asking you. Are you positive you're over whatever the busters did to you?" Shouichi asked as Chiffon's smile dropped.

"Not really. It still hurts when I think about it. I felt so used and weak." Chiffon said as a tear rolled down her eyes. She was surprised when Shouichi gave her a hug.

"Shh. Everything's alright now. The busters are all gone. As much as I would love to take away those painful memories, I can't but I can help to make you feel better." Shouichi said soothingly to Chiffon who gripped him tightly.

"Thanks, Shouichi. I'm not so worried anymore now that you're back." Chiffon said as the smile returned to her face.

"Oh well, I think it's time for breakfast. Are you ready to meet with everyone again?" Shouichi said as he got up from the bed and made his way to the bathroom.

"Yes. I don't think it's good for me to keep letting myself be bogged down by an event that occurred in the past." Chiffon responded. It had been a week since the busters assault. In the first four days, Chiffon was just a depressed shell as she couldn't get over the abuse she had received. But thanks to Shouichi she had found the resolve to carry on.

It took the pair a good 45 minutes to get dressed as they made their way toward the cafeteria of the base. They sat down at a table together with some of the other West Genetics students. Dr. Aoi's coup was a success and he was now completely independent of the chevalier. And with the personnel and R&amp;D at his disposal, there was no way that the Chevalier could challenge him. The attack by the busters had been pushed off by the chevalier as an act that was carried out independently by a third party without their knowledge.

"So are you alright now Chiffon? I haven't seen you till now after the busters attacked." Ticy asked her best friend.

"Yes I am fine now Ticy thanks for asking." Chiffon replied as she gave a sweet smile to everyone.

"That's good to hear. It's a wonder your mental state is still so stable after going through such a thing. Those busters truly were deranged." Elizabeth commented.

"It's all thanks to Shouichi that I could pull through." Chiffon said as she turned to her partner who was up till now stuffing his face full of food.

"Can't you at least try to eat with some more dignity than that Shouichi?" Chiffon said as she prodded her partner for how he was stuffing his face.

"Hey I can't help it If I'm hungry." Shouichi responded through a mouthful of food.

"By the way, I just remembered we need to go see Dr. Aoi after this." Shouichi said as he suddenly remembered what he had to do.

"Wait why didn't you tell me earlier?" Chiffon said as she huffed angrily at him.

"I forgot sorry. Hey I've been so worried about you all this time. You know that today is the first day you've managed to go more than an hour without breaking down right?" Shouichi said as he gave her a sheepish grin. His comment made Chiffon blush.

"Thanks. For caring Shouichi." Chiffon said softly such that only he could hear it.

"Hey no problem. In fact, you cared so much for me when I was out for so long. I should be the one thanking you. I don't think I could ever repay the favor." Shouichi replied.

"Aww, look at the two of you. You both make such a cute couple." Arnett said jokingly as everyone at the table had their eyes glued to the pair and their actions.

"Arnett!" Chiffon said as she glared at her.

"Hey take it easy Chiffon. Getting so worked up is going to make you look old." Shouichi said as she watched Chiffon's face get redder from everyone's teasing.

"Hmph. It's time to go Shouichi." Chiffon said as she got up from the table and walked toward Dr. Aoi's office.

"Ahh, hey hold on Chiffon." Shouichi said as he got up and chased after his partner.

"Hey what's the rush? Dr. Aoi didn't say that he needed to see us in a hurry. Or is ms. monster just bad at handling other people's teasing?" Shouichi said jokingly. The next thing he recalled was getting punched in the face by Chiffon.

"Why do you have to keep teasing me like that. It's embarrassing you know." Chiffon said with a huff as she looked away from Shouichi who was now getting up and rubbing his nose.

"Aww. Don't be like that. You know I can't help but tease you because you look so cute whenever you're embarrassed." Shouichi said as he hugged from Chiffon from behind. His sudden move surprised Chiffon.

"Anyway let's get going. We don't want to keep Dr. Aoi waiting." Chiffon said as she broke free from Shouichi's embrace and just held his hand and leaned into him as the pair walked toward Dr. Aoi's office.

Dr. Aoi's office.

"I see Shouichi remembered that the two of you were to see me as soon as you recovered Chiffon." Dr. Aoi said as he motioned for the two to sit down. Su Na Lee was next to him.

"So Chiffon, are you sure you are feeling alright now?" Dr. Aoi asked his voice full of concern which was rare for the usually stoic Dr.

"Yes, father. I think I have recovered from that nightmare. It was all thanks to Shouichi here. " Chiffon said with a smile which caused Dr. Aoi to relax in his seat.

"I see that's good to hear. It's good that my original suggestion to have the two of you paired up together worked out so well. The two of you have both supported each other through many hardships as partners. Now then Shouichi, I think it's time for you to allow me to conduct the necessary tests on you." Dr. Aoi said as he got up from his seat.

"Tests? Wait what are you going to do with him father?" Chiffon asked prepared to defend her partner even from her own father.

"Relax Chiffon. I told Dr. Aoi that I would do a full test of my new powers under observation once when you had fully recovered that's all." Shouichi said as he patted his partner's head like she was a little girl to get her to calm down.

"Oh I see. Wait are you talking about your burning form?" Chiffon asked curious as to why Dr. Aoi wanted to Shouichi to do a demonstration of his powers.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I unlocked a new form in the fight against the busters. That's how I could save your sisters. Both me and Dr. Aoi are interested to know the exact limits of this new form. So I agreed to carry out a full test of the new form under observation. Of course after you recovered. There was no way I could test out my powers while still worried about you." Shouichi replied smiling to his partner.

"I am sorry for holding you back." Chiffon said as she hung her head down.

"Don't worry about it. My first priority is always to look after my partner. Everything else is secondary." Shouichi said as he gave Chiffon a hug.

"Alright then Shouichi, why don't you make your way to the simulation centre and I shall join you there shortly." Dr. Aoi said.

"Right." Shouichi replied as he got up and went to go toward the simulation centre. Chiffon was walking together with him.

"I wonder how I can deal with this interesting development. Chiffon really is more human than any of her other sisters." Dr. Aoi remarked as he got up and walked toward the simulation centre with Su Na Lee close behind him.

Simulation Centre.

"Alright Shouichi you can begin whenever you like." Dr. Aoi said as he manned the simulation controls.

"Right. Henshin!" Shouichi shouted as the belt appeared around his waist and he transformed into his shining form after hitting the two switches. He turned to face his simulated opponents. He was up against three N3 nova. He dispatched one that charged outright at him with a shining punch. Then he called for his weapons the shining caliber in its twin mode. He cut down the second N3 nova with astonishing speed. Then he used his shining dragon kick to beat the last one.

"Hmm. Interesting. His output levels spike between almost nothing to insanely high at impossible rates. It seems that this form may possibly be limited by his creativity and his own limits." Dr. Aoi remarked as Shouichi came up to the control room to meet them.

"So Dr. what do you think?" Shouichi asks as Chiffon comes up to him and leans into his chest.

"The form is certainly interesting. You should train more with it. Know its limits and yours well." Dr. Aoi remarked as the pair were leaving.

"Right... training." Shouichi said with a sigh and just continued walking with Chiffon.

"Hey Chiffon would you like to have another picnic today? To celebrate both of our recoveries." Shouichi asked as he smiled at his partner.

"I would love to. As long as I am with you I don't mind doing anything." Chiffon said as he leaned in closer to him.

The two of them sat on the picnic mat staring into the sunset as they enjoyed their food.

"Days like these make me feel like the war with the nova is just a distant memory." Shouichi remarked as he finished his food.

"Yes. I sure wish everyday could be like this. Peaceful and with the company of my partner." Chiffon said. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist as Shouichi hugged her from behind.

"Hey how about we have a little fun Chiffon? After all we've only been back together for a week and haven't had any fun lately." Shouichi said playfully.

"Wait what do you mean by that?" Chiffon asked in confusion. Then suddenly she realized what her partner went as she felt his hands roam toward her collarbone where he started to tickle her.

"Shouichi stop please. I really can't breathe." Chiffon pleaded in between laughs.

"Hehe you look so cute like that Chiffon." Shouichi said as he stopped and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Hmph. You are such a tease." Chiffon said as she turned away from him. She was surprised when she was swept off her feet by him and was carried back to their room in his arms. As soon as he got to the room he placed her down onto the bed.

"Shall we have some fun my dear partner?" Shouichi said as he begun to tease Chiffon's body. His hands roamed all over her body as he gave her a passionate kiss.

"Shouichi...I" Chiffon wanted to say something but she was quickly silenced by another kiss. Shouichi's hands continued to roam her body, teasing all of her sensitive spots through her uniform. He broke contact and stared lovingly at her.

"So what would you like to do, my dear Chiffon?"Shouichi asked playfully as he just stared at Chiffon who was blushing. She knew what her partner wanted and she knew that she wanted it to. She obliged and disengaged her volt texture uniform and left herself in her underwear now. Shouichi stripped to his underwear to and continued with his teasing.

"You look so cute like this." Shouichi said as he continued playing with Chiffon's breasts. His hands roamed down her waist as he began teasing her nether regions through her underwear eliciting moans from her.

"Have you really missed doing this so much? You're underwear is already so damp. Aren't you a naughty little pandora my dear." Shouichi said as he slipped his hands under Chiffon's underwear and began to tease her bare skin.

"Ahh. That's because you were out for so long. You idiot." Chiffon said as she continued to moan from her partner's delicate touch. He seemed to know exactly how to please her.

"Hehe. Well now that we're both together we can enjoy ourselves wholeheartedly right?" Shouichi said as he stabbed two fingers into Chiffon's moist pussy and fingered her causing her to moan louder.

"Enough with the teasing will you?" Chiffon said as she gave him a frown.

"Alright alright." Shouichi said as he pulled his fingers out of her. She was a little disappointed when his fingers left. He pulled off his underwear and revealed his stiff member to her. He placed himself at her wet entrance. He leaned into her for a kiss as he slowly entered her. He moved slowly at first. Then gradually started getting faster as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

"Ahh. Shouichi, you feel amazing!" Chiffon shouted as she felt the pleasure course throughout her whole being. She was disappointed when her partner suddenly stopped moving.

"Why don't we try something different today?" Shouichi asked.

"Wait what do you mean by that?" Chiffon wondered as she felt her partner lift her body and adjust their positions such that now she was on top of him.

"Since you always complain that I'm so pushy, why don't you take the lead now my dear?" Shouichi teased as he placed his hands on Chiffon's ass. Chiffon realized what her partner wanted her to do and so she started moving her hips as her lower lips began to tighten around his erect member. She felt him reach deeper into her.

"Shouichi I am about to..." Chiffon shouted as her moans were getting progressively louder.

"Me too Chiffon." Shouichi responded as he continued to tease her breasts and lick her nipples. Then he pulled her toward him for a kiss as the two of them reached their individual climaxes and Shouichi shot his hot seed into her.

"Mhmm. That felt wonderful Shouichi." Chiffon said as she wrapped her arms around him. Before long the two partners drifted to sleep.

The Next Day.

"Is it another nova attack?" Chiffon asked as she walked toward Dr. Aoi's office with Shouichi. Along the way they met with Chiffon's sisters the other legendary pandora as well as platoon 13. They were led by Su Na Lee to the command bunker where Dr. Aoi was already seated with multiple screens giving various updates.

"Thank you all for coming. Around 30 minutes ago, this thing appeared." Dr. Aoi said as one of the screens changed to show a humanoid creature with the features of a whale.

"Is it a new nova?" Kazuha asked.

"It sure doesn't look like one." Kazuya said.

"I'm not too sure what it is. But all I know is that as soon as it appeared it has been killing several people in some of the most gruesome ways possible." Dr. Aoi said as he put up images of some of the creatures victims. Some of the people gathered felt like vomiting.

"Chevalier has deployed a total of six pandora squads to try and stop the creature all of which have been completely obliterated with no survivors. I'm not sure what to do against it myself. It does not seem to be as fast as the earlier humanoid nova but it is many times more powerful. I'd estimate its strength as being on par with the legendary pandora." Dr. Aoi said.

"That thing isn't a regular nova. It's an El. The El of water." Shouichi said as he was on the ground.

"Shouichi what happened to you?" Chiffon asked as she went to her partner's side.

"I'm starting to remember everything about my past now. The only way to defeat it is to use weapons that generate high amounts of heat." Shouichi said before passing out from the shock of recovering all his memories.

"So what do we do now Dr. Aoi? I don't think Shouichi is fit for combat right now." Su Na Lee said.

"Yes. We'll just have to work based on his advice then. Platoon 13 and all Legendary pandora are to deploy. All melee weapon users are to stall the creature and give the particle beams time to charge and fire at it. Now go. Chiffon I think you should stay here in case Shouichi wakes up." Dr. Aoi said as everyone deployed. Chiffon helped Shouichi onto a chair and sat down next to him as she watched everyone else leave to fight the creature.

"They did it!" Chiffon shouted as she watched Cassandra's particle beam succeed in seemingly destroying the creature. It had been a hard fight and few of their attacks had any effect on the creature. Only the particle beams were effective and that was only if it hit the creature. The team had to resort to everyone else distracting the creature while those that fired particle beams used the openings to attack the creature.

"No they didn't." Shouichi said as everyone turned to see him awake now.

"Shouichi! Are you alright now?" Chiffon asked full of concern.

"Yeah. It was just the shock of everything coming back to me." Shouichi responded.

"So why don't you tell us everything?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"That creature just now was the El of water one of the four Els created by the Overlord of darkness. Its return means that the overlord of darkness is about to make his return. The Els are his herald in essence. The overlord fears the power of Agito and predicting that he would attempt to stop any agito from awakening, the overlord of light sent mixed signals of who the agito was. The El of water was sent to try and prevent me from awakening as an agito. It killed my parents in cold blood. The overlord of light partially awakened the power of Agito within my sister who died trying to hide me from the El." Shouichi said as he began sobbing when he recalled all the painful memories of watching his family be killed.

"Shh.. Shouichi everything's alright." Chiffon said as she comforted him.

"As soon as my powers were fully developed or so I thought, I hunted the El. I fought him once and thought that I had defeated him. But he returned again this time stronger. It required the power of my trinity form to beat the El the second time. Then it attacked me a third time and threw me into the ocean. It thought that it had killed me and so returned back to the overlord of darkness waiting for his return." Shouichi said as he told the truth of his past.

"So what you're saying is we've only beaten this El of water for now and it will just return back stronger. This is troubling news indeed. I'll analyze the battle data again to see if there is anything that might be of help. I'll debrief everyone when they return. For now, I think you should go and get some rest. Reliving such terrible memories can take quite a toll on the body." Dr. Aoi said as Chiffon helped Shouichi back to their room.

"Hahaha what do you think you can do against me boy? I beat you the last time Agito and I'll defeat you again this time and I will make sure to kill everyone you care about. Then once I've had my fun with all your friends, I'll make sure to kill you slowly. Nothing stands against the overlord of darkness." A voice said to Shouichi as he slept. He saw vivid visions of all his new friends including his partner being killed as he watched helplessly. He also had lucid dreams of watching his parents and sister being killed again and again.

"No. I won't let you!" Shouichi shouted as he felt his entire body being shaken and a bright light entered his eyes.

"Shouichi wake up! Are you alright? You were shouting in your sleep." Chiffon said. Shouichi was sobbing uncontrollably. He managed to calm himself down.

"It was nothing Chiffon. It was just a nightmare...Oh god no." Shouichi responded as he started crying again.

"Shh... Everything's alright. I'm right here by your side." Chiffon said as she pulled Shouichi into her chest and soothed him down.

"Are you feeling better now?" Chiffon asked as Shouichi faced his partner.

"Yeah. Thanks for that Chiffon." Shouichi said as he gave his partner a hug for supporting him emotionally.

"It's nothing. Now are you fine enough to tell me what happened to you?" Chiffon asked as she continued comforting her still distraught partner.

"I saw them being killed again and again. My parents, my sister. Then I saw everyone else I cared about being killed. Including you!" Shouichi said as he started crying again.

"Shh... It was just a nightmare. Nothing bad is going to happen. After all we are always watching out for one another right?" Chiffon said as she continued to try and calm her partner down.

"Yeah. You're right. It was just a horrible nightmare." Shouichi said as he finally calmed down.

"Good now let's get back to sleep." Chiffon said as she lay back on the bed. Shouichi joined her and spooned his partner as the two of them fell back to sleep. Her presence really helped to calm him down and allowed him to get the rest he needed.

The Next Day

Shouichi went to see Dr. Aoi after Su Na Lee had informed him that he was wanted. He said goodbye to Chiffon who had gone to see how her sisters were doing. He walked into the office to see Dr. Aoi looking intently at the screen. He let out a slight cough to signal to Dr. Aoi that he was here.

"Yes Shouichi, Thanks for coming here so quickly on such short notice. I reviewed the battle data from yesterday. And I if I remember correctly, your Shining Form has the ability to manipulate energy correct?" Dr. Aoi said.

"Yes but I don't understand how that has anything to do with the El of water." Shouichi said.

"I think you might want to see this." Dr. Aoi said as he motioned for Shouichi to see what he was looking at on the screen.

"Wait that's..."Shouichi said as he watched the battle that occurred yesterday.

"Yes. I was going through the battle yesterday and realized that once Cassandra destroyed its physical body, It turned into a mass of energy and left. I presume back to the overlord to have its physical body reconstructed." Dr. Aoi commented to Shouichi who was still staring intently at the screen.

"I see. I presume that you think I can somehow stop the energy from escaping using my Shining Form?" Shouichi asked as he realized what Dr. Aoi was getting at.

"Yes that is what I was thinking. Do you think it's possible?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"Maybe. But I need to try how absorbing a non consensus energy source will affect me and said source." Shouichi replied.

"Yes let's test it out on a piece of unstable stigmata shall we? Come to the training centre after lunch." Dr. Aoi said to Shouichi.

"Right I'll see you later then Dr. Aoi. I hope your suggestion works. I want to end my fight with that El. Once and for all." Shouichi said as his hand clenched up into a fist. He thanked Dr. Aoi before taking his leave.

Shouichi walked out of Dr. Aoi's office and decided to go look for his partner. He saw Chiffon with her sisters as well as Kazuya, Kazuha, Satellizer and Rana. He decided to play a prank on them and so he snuck back to his room to grab a scary clown mask. He rushed back down and sneakily crept up to the group and shocked everyone when he popped up wearing the clown mask.

"You idiot just what were you trying to pull there?" Chiffon said as she punched Shouichi in the face for his silly antics.

"I don't like clowns you know." Windy May said as he approached Shouichi with her warhammer in her right hand.

"Relax sister. My partner was just being ridiculous as usual." Chiffon said as she stopped her sister from getting any closer to Shouichi.

"I still don't get how you put up with him Chiffon." Kazuha responded flatly.

"Hey I was just trying to lighten the mood." Shouichi said as he got up from the ground and rubbed his nose after Chiffon hit him.

"Your partner isn't funny at all." the normally silent Cassandra said surprising everybody.

"Ouch. That comment must hurt for you Shouichi. Even mother thinks you aren't funny." Kazuya said with a laugh. He was closer to Cassandra than any other of his supposed aunts but after all she was technically his 'mother'.

"Right anyway where were you all heading to?" Shouichi asked as he recovered from being hurt by Cassandra's comment.

"Well we were going to go out to the city for a little while. Would you like to join us as well?" Chiffon asked smiling at her partner.

"Sure I would love to." Shouichi said and the group made their way out of the base toward the city.

The group went around the city and went window shopping. Everyone was having a good time in the city. Kazuya was always hanging around near Cassandra while Kazuha kept interacting with her other three aunts. Chiffon was walking with Shouichi. Cassandra kept giving death glares to Rana and Satellizer as though she still did not approve of them being so close to Kazuya. After some time, Kazuya and Kazuha bought everyone ice cream. Shouichi just laughed when Teslad pinched Kazuya's cheek after taking a lick of her ice cream cone.

"Oh no will you look at the time? I need to get back to the base. I promised Dr. Aoi that I would meet him after lunch." Shouichi said as he broke off from the group.

"Are you sure you can't stay? And what does Dr. Aoi want with you anyway?" Chiffon said as she gave her partner a pouty look for having to leave early.

"Yeah. I told him that I would meet him for lunch. Nothing much he just wanted to do more tests on me that's all. Have fun everyone." Shouichi said as he walked away from the group. Everyone was surprised when he jumped onto his motorcycle and sped off towards the base.

"Wait when did he..." Kazuha said in disbelief.

"It's a part of him remember?" Chiffon responded with a giggle as the group continued with their exploration of the city.

Shouichi zoomed back toward the base on his motorcycle. After parking it, he rushed to the mess hall to grab a bite to eat before making his way to Dr. Aoi's office to discuss the plan for the test that was about to happen.

"So Dr. Aoi what are we going to do to test that idea of yours?" Shouichi asked.

"Come with me." Dr. Aoi said as he got up from his chair and the two men walked toward the training centre. In the middle of the training centre was a large piece of stigmatic material.

"What's with the large stigmata in the centre Dr. Aoi?" Shouichi asked as he wondered what Dr. Aoi was trying to do with such odd arrangements.

"You're going to see if you can absorb energy from an unstable stigmata. This should see if we can counteract the El of Water's ability to continuously revive." Dr. Aoi said.

"Alright then I'll go down there and try it out then." Shouichi said as he went down into the training grounds.

"Henshin!" Shouichi shouted as he transformed into Agito Shining Form.

"Alright Dr. Aoi what do you want me to do?" Shouichi asked as he turned to Dr. Aoi who was observing him from the gallery.

"First I want you to make the stigmata release its energy by hitting it with any of your techniques. Then I want you to try and absorb the energy it releases." Dr. Aoi said through the speakers.

"Alright then. Agito Shining Caliber Clash!" Shouichi said as he summoned his twin blades. They glowed bright with energy and he threw them like boomerangs at the large stigmata. Then he approached the now unstable stigmata which was leaking energy and about to explode.

Shouichi placed his hands on the large stigmata and closed his eyes as he felt the energy course through his body. His body began to glow brighter and brighter as he felt more energy from the stigmata flowing into him. But he also felt the energy pushing out as if begging to be released. He tried to keep the energy inside but failed to do so as a bright light enveloped the training centre. A bright beam of light fired from Shouichi's body as he was sent against a wall from the force of the blast. The blast ripped a hole through the training room.

"Shouichi? What just happened?" Dr. Aoi asked through the speakers as he noticed that Kazuya and everyone else had come to see the source of the beam.

"What was that Grandfather? Are we under attack?" Kazuya asked.

"No that was just Shouichi." Dr. Aoi responded.

"What happened to my partner father?" Chiffon asked.

"We were doing a test to see how much energy he could absorb. He pushed himself too hard and had to release the massive energy he absorbed. That's what caused the beam." Dr. Aoi said as Chiffon saw Shouichi still in his shining from walking from where he had landed in the wall and the crater his impact had left.

"Shouichi are you alright?" Chiffon asked.

"I'm fine. Dr. Aoi does the stigmata still have enough energy for me to try again?" Shouichi asked as he approached the stigmata again.

"It still has slightly less than half its power remaining. Go ahead when you're ready." Dr. Aoi replied.

"Right here goes nothing. Again." Shouichi said as he placed his hands on the stigmata once more.

As before, his body started to glow brighter. Eventually, he let go of the stigmata which now had no more energy left. His body was still shining brightly indicating that he still had the energy within him. He just stood still as he felt the energy coursing through his body trying to find a way out. He tried to fight back the energy and tried to hold it in himself. He started grunting from the strain before the exact same thing happened again as before as he lost control of the energy and was forced to release it.

"Shouichi are you all right?" Chiffon asked as she rushed to his side after he turned back to normal from the strain. His body was bruised.

"Yeah I'm alright Chiffon thanks." Shouichi replied as he got up. Chiffon helped support him to the gallery where he sat down on the couch.

"I don't think this will work Dr. Aoi. I can only absorb the energy temporarily. Shining Form is only a conduit. It's not a form that can store energy for long. The energy has to have a way out. And this is especially true when the energy is hostile to me." Shouichi said panting as he recalled the feeling of the energy attacking him, trying to find a way for it to get out.

"I see. We have to come up with something else then and soon. We have no idea when that El of water will return again." Dr. Aoi replied.

"Right." Shouichi said as he got up and was helped back to the room by Chiffon.

"Hey everyone did you have fun on your outing after I left?" Shouichi said managing a weak smile.

"Yeah we did. But are you sure you should be pushing yourself that hard Shouichi-sempai?" Kazuya asked.

"I need to find a way to end the El of water once and for all. It's the only way I can truly be at peace. I can't rest knowing that that thing is back and can be a potential threat to all my new friends." Shouichi said as his expression changed to one of sorrow as he remembered all the painful memories.

"Now, now I think you'd better get some rest." Chiffon said as she helped Shouichi back to the room after saying goodbye to her sisters and her nephew and niece.

"Thanks for helping get me back to the room Chiffon." Shouichi said as Chiffon helped to move him onto the bed.

"No problem. Partners remember. But why did you have to go and push yourself so hard? I was so worried about you. I mean look at you. You're a mess." Chiffon said as she gave her partner a loving hug while expressing her worry for him.

"Sorry but Dr. Aoi had a theory on how to beat the El and I agreed to test it out. You know that I can't rest with that monster still out there and being a threat to everyone especially to you Chiffon." Shouichi said tears were streaming down his face as the scene of his parents and sister's deaths played in his mind.

"Shh... It's alright Shouichi. I understand your concern for everyone but you're making me worry too. Your desperation to end that creature is starting to affect you. You know you don't have to shoulder that pain alone. I am always here to share your pain with you as your partner." Chiffon said as she stroked her partners head while nestling his head in her chest.

"Wait... sharing the burden... I think I may have the solution. Thanks Chiffon." Shouichi said as his expression suddenly brightened up and he gave Chiffon as sudden kiss. Chiffon blushed and returned the kiss as well wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Uhm... what did you just figure out Shouichi?" Chiffon asked as the two parted from their kiss.

"I think I might have the answer to the problem. Tell you about it tomorrow. For now why don't we have a little fun. Ouch." Shouichi said as he began teasing Chiffon's body before realizing that he was still slightly injured from the earlier training.

"Are you alright Shouichi?" Chiffon asked.

"Yeah I'm fine now let's just enjoy ourselves for the night shall we?" Shouichi said as he got behind Chiffon. He leaned into her and rubbed his face into her brown hair and began teasing her body as the pair had a really 'enjoyable' evening.

The Next Day.

Shouichi woke up early the next day and quickly got ready to go see Dr. Aoi to tell him about the idea he had to deal with the El of Water. After getting ready he saw Chiffon still asleep and placed a soft kiss on her cheeks. He told her that he would come and find her later. With that he ran out of the room toward Dr. Aoi's office.

"Yes Shouichi what was so important that you had to talk to me in person in the morning about?" Dr. Aoi asked the panting Shouichi who was still in plasters from yesterdays injuries.

"Dr. Aoi you remember yesterday we failed to come up with a solution to the problem of capturing the El in its energy form so that it couldn't be revived right?" Shouichi replied with his own question.

"Yes. The test failed. You couldn't hold it in but you could manipulate the energy. I still don't see where this is going." Dr. Aoi said.

"Well I was thinking since I can control the energy but not hold it, why not share the burden?" Shouichi replied.

"You mean that you would manipulate the energy then push it into someone capable of holding it?" Dr. Aoi said suddenly realizing what Shouichi was talking about.

"Yes exactly. Do you think such an idea would work?" Shouichi said wondering if his idea made any sense.

"It is possible. I think the legendary pandora might be able to pull something like that off. Who do you have in mind?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"I think you probably already know Dr. Aoi." Shouichi responded with a chuckle.

"I don't know if Chiffon could handle such an energy influx but we can try. The best option would probably be Cassandra. Meet me after lunch and we can test your little theory." Dr. Aoi. said.

"Right then. I'll see you later Dr. Aoi." Shouichi said as he turned to leave to go find Chiffon. He returned back to the room to see that Chiffon was just getting ready so he made himself a cup of tea while waiting for her to finish.

"Morning Shouichi. Where did you go by the way? I was worried when I woke up and you weren't there next to me." Chiffon said with a concerned look on her face.

"Oh I went to go see Dr. Aoi about something. You were still asleep and I didn't want to disturb you over something so trivial." Shouichi responded while smiling delightfully at his partner and drinking his tea. He offered a cup to her as well.

"I see. I wouldn't have minded accompanying you to see father you know." Chiffon replied after taking a sip of tea.

"Sorry. Just could not bring myself to disturb you. You looked so cute when you slept. Anyway let's go for breakfast." Shouichi said as Chiffon blushed slightly at his comment. The pair walked towards the mess hall and had their breakfast together with Chiffon's sisters, Kazuya, Kazuha, Rana and Satellizer.

"Are you fully recovered from yesterday Shouichi-sempai?" Kazuya asked breaking the silence of the table. His four aunts all still had their gazes trained at him.

"Yeah. My body was just a little sore yesterday that's all I am fine now. Also Cassandra Dr. Aoi wants you to meet him after lunch." Shouichi said as Cassandra just gave him a nod to say that she acknowledged the order.

"So do you all have any interesting plans for today?" Shouichi asked.

"Well Rana, Satellizer and I have to go for training so I guess nothing for today." Kazuya said.

"Me and the other four legendary pandora are going to have fun playing some board games today. Would you like to join us as well Chiffon and Shouichi?" Kazuha said.

"Sure that sounds delightful." Chiffon responded cheerfully while beaming at her niece.

A little bit later.

"Argh this is so hard. Windy keep losing. Windy doesn't like this game." Windy May said with a glint of insanity in her eyes. The group was playing a game of cards against humanity and everyone had fun playing with the exception of Windy May who was starting to get frustrated with the game. Out of nowhere her volt weapon materialized and she was about to smash the table.

"Now now, Aunt Windy just calm down. I'm sure there are other more fun games we can play." Kazuha said as she calmed her aunt down.

The group then went on to play a few rounds of Jenga. All the while Cassandra seemed to have her mind somewhere else while Teslad was her usual stoic self. Windy May was her usual cheerful self after having calmed down from previously. She was giggling away whenever either of her sisters was making a move hoping that the tower would fall on their turn.

"Alright it looks like I'm safe. Your turn Chiffon." Shouichi said as he managed to successfully pull out a block from the very unstable tower.

"Hmm.. Ah!" Chiffon shouted as she pulled out a block and caused the unstable tower to fall.

"Hahaha. That's the third time you've lost at this game Chiffon. Are you doing this on purpose or something to humor your sisters?" Shouichi said in between laughs.

"Hmph. This game is so hard and you're so mean. It's not my fault I keep losing." Chiffon said as she pouted at her partner. Then she started jabbing his sides in an effort to get him to stop laughing.

"Ouch. That hurts Chiffon." Shouichi replied as he stopped laughing and grabbed Chiffon's wrists to get her to stop laughing. Kazuha, Windy May and Lucy were laughing at this little scene while Teslad and Cassandra were quiet as usual.

"What's wrong Aunt Cassandra?" Kazuha asked as she noticed the depression in Cassandra's face.

"I miss my baby." She said dejectedly.

"Aww. Come on Cassandra. You can't be moping around because you can't be with Kazuya all the time. He needs his space too you know." Windy May replied trying to cheer up her sister. But her attempt failed to get Cassandra out of her depression.

"I'm sure Kazuya is fine, aunt Cassandra. How about another round?" Kazuha asked as she also attempted to cheer up her depressed aunt. Although her attempt failed as well.

"Oh wow, we've been having so much fun that it's already time for lunch. I think Kazuya and everyone else should be done with their training too. We should go to the mess hall and see if we can find them." Shouichi said as he continued struggling with Chiffon who was still trying to poke him for some odd reason. Cassandra's expression suddenly changed as she rushed out of the room toward the mess hall.

"It looks like the only thing that can communicate with Cassandra is Kazuya." Windy May remarked.

"Kazuya means a lot to her after all." Kazuha said as everyone else left to head to the mess hall as well.

As the group arrived at the mess hall they saw Kazuya there together with Rana and Satellizer behind him. The two pandora were looking absolutely dead tired from their training and Shouichi just laughed at how exhausted they looked. When Kazuya noticed them, he immediately ran and gave Cassandra a hug.

"Kazuya my baby. How was your day? Are you hurt or tired?"Cassandra asked as she pushed Kazuya deeper into her bust.

"I'm fine mom. Did you have fun playing with everyone else?" Kazuya replied as he looked up at Cassandra who just smiled back at him.

"Did the two of you have fun training with Su Na Lee?" Chiffon asked as she approached her two juniors.

"Hahaha. Are you kidding Chiffon. Look at the two of them. They look like they're about ready to collapse on the floor right now. Su Na Lee sure is tough on training." Shouichi said as he commented on how tired Rana and Satellizer looked. The two of them gave no reply and just took their food and took a seat at the table as everyone joined them for lunch.

Everyone was happily enjoying their lunch as Shouichi was stuffing his face as usual. The other four legendary pandora were watching Kazuya and Kazuha intently while Cassandra was feeding Kazuya or at least attempting too as he kept telling her that he could feed himself. Then out of nowhere he felt someone prodding his sides. He turned to see Chiffon jabbing at his sides for no apparent reason. He grabbed her wrist to get her to stop.

"Hey that hurts Chiffon. Is something bothering you?" Shouichi asked as she just giggled back at him.

"Nope. This is just payback for all the times you've been teasing me. Besides it's fun to see you annoyed like that." Chiffon replied with a smile.

"But you always hit me or something whenever I tease you too much. How is this even fair?" Shouichi replied as he let go of Chiffon's hand and she went back to annoying him again.

"Whoever said anything about this being fair?" Chiffon said as she gave him an unnerving smile and he just sighed in defeat.

"Right since everyone is done with lunch, I think it's about time we went to see Dr. Aoi about what he wants." Shouichi said as he got up from the table and everyone followed behind him while Chiffon wrapped her arm around his.

"Right I wasn't expecting everyone to come along as well. I had only asked for Cassandra. But it doesn't matter. Shouichi and Cassandra please get ready in the training centre. I will brief you shortly. Everyone else just make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the show." Dr. Aoi said.

"What are they doing father?" Chiffon asked wondering why she wasn't the one chosen to train with Shouichi.

"We're testing out another theory to stop the El." Dr. Aoi replied as he watched Shouichi transform into his shining form and Cassandra got into her battle attire with counters appearing around her shoulders.

"Right Dr. Aoi we're starting the test." Shouichi said as he placed a hand on the large unstable stigmata in the center of the stadium. He placed his other hand on Cassandra's shoulder.

"Are you ready Cassandra?" Shouichi asked. His reply came in the form of a nod from her as his body started glowing brighter.

"Beginning transfer of energy." Shouichi said as his body just continued shining brighter. The counters on Cassandra's shoulders were going higher.

"It looks like it's working. We can use this to probably trap the El of water and end it once and for all." Dr. Aoi commented happily but then his eyes went wide as he realized that something was wrong. Cassandra's counter stopped increasing and Shouichi's body was glowing brighter. Suddenly Shouichi let go of Cassandra and the stigmata as he was forced to release the energy that he had absorbed from the stigmata. The force of the release sent him flying toward the wall.

"Shouichi are you alright?" Dr. Aoi asked as Shouichi limped out of the rubble clutching his right hand.

"It looks like it won't work. Even with Cassandra acting as the energy store the process was only stable for about 5 minutes before it just failed and the energy couldn't flow." Dr. Aoi said.

"No this thing will work. Let me try it again with Chiffon." Shouichi said to Dr. Aoi.

"Are you serious? Even Cassandra couldn't do it. What makes you think that Chiffon who is weaker than her will be able to pull it off?" Dr. Aoi rebutted.

"Because Dr. Aoi there is something more to energy flow then just power levels." Shouichi replied calmly.

"Fine then I'll allow it. Chiffon go and get ready." Dr. Aoi said as Chiffon went down to the training room while Cassandra went back up to the observation deck.

"Are you sure about this Shouichi? I mean I am not as strong as my sisters you know." Chiffon said as she tried to hide her worry from him.

"I know you're worried but this isn't about power levels. This is about trust. Do you trust me to regulate the energy flow for you?" Shouichi said as the two of them approached the stigmata.

"Yes I do. You are my partner and I will always trust you." Chiffon replied not understanding what her partner was talking about and how this conversation mattered.

"Good. I trust you to absorb the energy as well. Now let's begin the test shall we. And don't worry. I will always make sure nothing bad will happen to you. Now just focus on controlling the energy." Shouichi said as he placed one had on the stigmata and another on Chiffon's shoulder. As before, Shouichi's body started glowing brighter as Chiffon's legendary stigmata appeared on her collarbone.

"How is this even possible, the rate of absorption is constant. This might actually work." Dr. Aoi said as he checked all of the readings and got a pleasant surprise. Eventually the stigmata was completely drained of its energy and the glow subsided from Shouichi's body.

"So how's that for it's not going to work Dr. Aoi?" Shouichi said as he turned back to normal.

"I am impressed. I didn't think the two of you could pull it off. This is interesting though how is it that you and Chiffon could make the process work but you couldn't get it done with Cassandra?" Dr. Aoi said as the two of them went up to the observation deck.

"Simple Dr. Aoi. It's about more than power it's about trust. Energy Manipulation requires a degree of trust throughout the chain. When I tried it with Cassandra earlier there were some doubts between us that's why it failed." Shouichi responded calmly as Chiffon leaned in closer to him.

"I see. Well then this should put us in good stead the next time the El appears again. You all can go now." Dr. Aoi as everyone went their own separate ways.

"Hey Chiffon let's do something fun tonight. We can watch that movie that you always wanted to see." Shouichi said.

"I wouldn't mind but how will we make it to the city in time? It's already pretty late you know." Chiffon replied.

"Oh we will get there in time provide you are comfortable with holding on to me tightly on my motorcycle." Shouichi said.

"Are you sure it's safe Shouichi?" Chiffon asked.

"Hey just trust me alright. Now let's get going." Shouichi said as the pair went to where his motorcycle was parked to leave for their date.

The pair enjoyed a wonderful dinner in one of the city's many cafes before going off to see the new romance flick that was being screened in the movie theatres. Chiffon had been telling Shouichi about it and he had always planned to bring her there. He enjoyed how cuddly she was while they were watching the movie. He liked this cute Chiffon a lot. After the movie, the pair were walking through the now empty town toward where Shouichi's motorcycle was parked. Shouichi felt something was amiss. When the pair rounded the corner, they were both shocked to find the area littered with bodies all either maimed or disfigured. Instinctively, Shouichi put himself in front of Chiffon.

"Shouichi, all these dead people, is it possible?" Chiffon asked. Her words were separated due to her shock from seeing all the bodies.

"Yes it is. It's the El of water. And it looks like it has found us." Shouichi said as he turned his and Chiffon's attention toward a humanoid figure that had a whale like had with the features of a shark. In its right hand was a trident. The creature had its back to the pair but turned to face them slowly. Its menacing eyes staring directly at the two of them.

"Agito, I have come for your head. You are a fool to think that you can oppose the overlord of darkness. And I will ensure that both you and your partner receive a painful and slow death." The El of water said.

"Chiffon I want you to stay out of this fight. Do not help me unless absolutely necessary. I need to settle this score once and for all." Shouichi said as he walked toward the El of water. He transformed into Agito Shining Form and summoned his twin shining caliber.

"You're still that same foolish boy I met over two years ago. My only regret was that I let you get this far in your evolution. I should have made sure to finish you off the last time. But no matter. This time I will make sure to bring your head back as a present." The El of water said to Shouichi as the two of them charged at one another.

"This time, I will make sure you die monster!" Shouichi shouted. Sparks flew as their two weapons clash. The El able to match each of Agito's attacks. Shouichi never once held back in his assault as he continued forcing the El of water back with a flurry of blade swipes. He brought both of his blades down in a downward strike but his attack was stopped by the El who used his trident to parry the stroke.

"Isn't that what you said the last three times you faced me? This is the fifth time you've seen me boy. I'll keep coming back till I kill you and everyone else. So decrees the overlord of darkness." The El of water said as the two of them continued to be evenly matched.

"No I will not allow you to harm anyone else anymore you monster. You die tonight!" Shouichi shouted as the El of water put some distance between himself and Agito. Their weapons clashed once more as the El of Water just stared into Agito's face.

"Do you think you can hope to beat me? I will kill everyone in front of your eyes again. Just as I did to your parents and your sister. And you will watch on. Completely powerless to do anything." The El of water said as he again put some distance between himself and Agito.

"For all that you've done. For all those innocent lives that you have taken. I will never forgive you." Shouichi shouted as he charged once more at the El. He was surprised when the El just disappeared from his sight.

"What's the matter boy? Can't hit me?" The El of water said as he reappeared behind Agito and delivered a quick blow sending sparks flying from the contact of his weapon against Agito's armor.

"Shouichi!" Chiffon shouted as Shouichi recovered from the El's attack.

"You're just as powerless as you were before you became Agito. Just as powerless as you were when I killed your parents and just as powerless as when your sister had to give up her life just to protect you. All of their efforts wasted on a powerless boy." The El of Water continued taunting Shouichi, preying on his painful memories.

"I will kill you this night. This I swear upon all the lives you've taken you monster." Shouichi shouted as his grip tightened around his blades and he charged at the El of water once more. But again the El of water disappeared and reappeared again to his side. Shouichi reacted just in time to parry the attack. He tried to lash out at the El of water but his attack failed to hit as the El of Water just disappeared again.

"What's the matter? You can't even hit me. So much for your evolution of infinite possibilities. You may be a fully awakened Agito but inside your still that same broken boy." The El of water taunted as Shouichi just kept blindly trying to attack the El of Water. The El of water's goading was clearly having an effect on his rational mind. He kept getting hit by each of the El's attacks while he himself failed to land any of his own attacks.

"So this is the limit of your strength Agito? How pathetic. I guess I should end you now." the El of water said as it approached a now exhausted Shouichi. Shouichi knew his armor wouldn't hold forever and all the attacks he had taken had placed an immense strain on his body. Just as he was about to be hit by the EL of Water again he saw a figure jump in front of him to block the attack using a set of floating shields.

"Chiffon what are you doing?" Shouichi said as he realized that she had jumped into the battle to save him.

"Saving you obviously." Chiffon said as she swung her clawed gauntlet at the El of water.

"Why? I told you to stay out of this." Shouichi responded.

"Are you crazy? I'm not about to watch while my partner is killed. Remember we promised to take care of each other." Chiffon said as she blocked one of the El's attacks.

"No I can't let you fight. He's too strong. He can appear and disappear at will. He'll kill you." Shouichi pleaded for his partner to run away.

"Are you that blinded by your thirst for revenge that you can't even see through the El's trick? He's just using a variant of illusion turn. You just fell for it because you were so focused on revenge and you gave in to his goading." Chiffon said as she employed her own illusion turn to fight the El on even footing.

"Wait what?" Shouichi said as he calmed himself down. He forced himself to focus and realized that what Chiffon said was true. He had indeed been so blinded by his yearning for revenge that he fell for the El's illusion turn.

"So are you ready to take him on now and beat him once and for all?" Chiffon said as she stood next to Shouichi.

"Yeah. Let's finish him together." Shouichi said.

"It doesn't matter how many of you face me. Be it 2 or 200 the outcome will still be the same." The El of water said.

"We'll see about that." Shouichi responded calmly.

Chiffon's shields surrounded Shouichi as he stepped in front of Chiffon with his twin shining caliber in his hand. He focused and was able to sense where the El of water was thanks to his increased awareness in shining form. As he achieved his state of calmness he could easily predict where the El's attacks were going to come from. He guided Chiffon on where to place her shields to block each incoming attack. As the El hit the shield, Shouichi would come in for a quick slash at the El before retreating back behind the safety of the shields.

"How is this possible? How is it that you can even continue fighting?" The El of water questioned as it dropped to one knee from the injuries that it had received.

"This is the power of working together. The power of partners who have sworn to take care of one another. And this is the power that can overcome anything." Shouichi said as he approached the injured El. He dropped his shining caliber and clenched his right hand into a fist. Energy flowed into the fist as it glowed white. He punched the El right through its chest.

"Heheh. I'll make sure to take note of that power of yours and I'll make sure to kill your partner and your hope first before killing you when I return again, Agito boy." The El of water said.

"Oh no you don't. I told you that this is your last night of existence."Shouichi said as the El couldn't escape in his energy form.

"You what are you trying to do?" the El of Water said in disbelief.

"Preventing you from coming back to life ever again. Chiffon. Let's finish this." Shouichi said as Chiffon reached out her left hand to grab onto his left hand. Shouichi's body began to glow brighter and brighter as the stigmata on Chiffon's collarbone began to glow as well.

"No. This is impossible!" The El of water shouted as his physical body began to disappear leaving a mass of energy in its place. Slowly the energy flowed through Shouichi's body as he regulated the flow while purifying the energy so that it she could safely absorb it. The energy ball disappeared as the glow from both Shouichi's body and Chiffon's stigmata dissipated as well.

"We did it. We beat the El of water. I can't believe it. Looks like now I can finally let go of it all. This is my goodbye. Father, Mother, Sister." Shouichi said as he return back to his human form and sat on the ground. Happy tears running down his face as he was finally freed from the burden and guilt that had been plaguing him. He had bruises and injuries on his body but was not too badly injured.

"Well then Shouichi, shall we go back to the base and tell everyone the good news tomorrow? And I hope now you finally are able to let go of that sadness of yours." Chiffon said as she helped Shouichi up and gave him a reassuring hug.

"Yeah. I think now I finally feel like I can make peace with my dead family. Thanks for everything Chiffon." Shouichi said as he wiped the tears from his face and returned the hug He kissed his partner before the two returned back to the base. When they returned back to the base, Shouichi was surprised that everyone was prepared to be deployed.

"Why are you all prepared for battle?" Shouichi asked as he gave a smile to everyone.

"We were prepared to engage the El of Water when we received the signal and learnt that you and Chiffon were nearby. We tried to contact you but there was no reply. Then we contacted Chiffon and she said to be on standby but to not come unless something bad happened." Kazuha said.

"What happened by the way Shouichi? And why did you refuse aid Chiffon?" Dr. Aoi asked.

Shouichi was about to reply when Chiffon cut him off and replied first.

"Because father we did not need any assistance and this was a fight that Shouichi had to settle for himself. I didn't do much in fact." Chiffon replied.

"That explains why you look fine while Shouichi has probably seen better days." Dr. Aoi said as he took note of Shouichi's condition.

"Do you need to be taken to the infirmary Shouichi?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"Nope I'll be fine. Besides if I need any assistance, I'm sure Chiffon can help me." Shouichi responded happily. His injuries were quite light and so they weren't affecting him too much.

"Anyway thanks for your concern everyone. Anyway the El of water is done for good now. Besides it's late. I think we all deserve a good rest after all it is already late." Shouichi said as he and Chiffon turned and left for their room.

"You know I think Shouichi-sempai feels even more at peace than he has ever been. I feel like he has finally been freed from a guilt that has been plaguing him for so long."Kazuya remarked as he watched his senior and his aunt walk away.

Shouichi and Chiffon's room.

"There. That's the last one." Chiffon said as she put the last plaster on Shouichi's back. She had been helping Shouichi patch up his wounds with plaster and gauze.

"Thanks Chiffon." Shouichi said as he turned to face his partner.

"It's no problem at all Shouichi." Chiffon said as she gave him a serene smile. She was shocked when he suddenly pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks for trusting me and for helping me make peace with my past Chiffon. I wouldn't have been able to make it through everything without you. I truly couldn't wish for a better partner." Shouichi said.

"No problem Shouichi. But just don't try and push everything onto yourself okay. You don't need to hide your pain around me. We are partners and we face everything together. Now let's get some rest. It's been a long night." Chiffon said as the pair went to sleep their arms wrapped around each other's bodies.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8- Conclusion**

A Month has passed since the El of Water was destroyed for good.

"Shouichi. Shouichi." A voice said calling out to Shouichi.

"Huh. Who is that?" Shouichi said as he opened his eyes to see that he was surrounded by light. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the overwhelming brightness.

"Who are you? And where am I?" Shouichi asked the strange figure who he could not recognize at all. The figure let out a small chuckle before speaking.

"You don't remember me at all you ungrateful student?" The figure said as Shouichi was finally able to make out the person's features.

"It can't be. Makoto-sensei is that really you?" Shouichi asked in disbelief that he was talking to his master.

"So you do still remember me. I see that you have a good life now. Still filled with hardships but now you're no longer alone. And now with the help of your partner you've finally made peace with your painful past. It's no wonder the overlord of light choose you. You are the embodiment of an Agito. A being who doesn't stops but keeps going to smash through the darkness and bring the light." Makoto said as he walked closer to his former student.

"Yes. I am grateful for all the people I have met and the bonds that have formed through all the trials that I have faced. Makoto-sensei, where have you been all this time? You disappeared suddenly without telling me anything." Shouichi said.

"Sorry about that Shouichi. I wish I could have told you. But I was created by the overlord of light to look after you. And when it was decided that you would be ready to face your destiny, my time on this plane of existence came to an end." Makoto Hikawa said as he placed a hand on his student's shoulder.

"I see. Thanks for everything then sensei. I would have never been able to reach this point without your help. I only wish I could repay all that you've done for me." Shouichi said as he looked at his former teacher with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"Hey now don't be sad. I was glad to be able to fulfill my purpose to humanity. Now you need to finish yours. The overlord of darkness will be returning soon and the final of the two Els will make their appearance as well. I hope you are ready. You need to do your best to protect all those you care about. Now I need to go. But fear not. I leave you with a little gift. And know that when your need is greatest I shall be there." Makoto said as he placed an object in Shouichi's hand. The light faded as Shouichi pleaded for his teacher not to leave. He felt his whole body shake as his eyes opened to see that he was back in his room. He saw that Chiffon had been shaking him awake.

"Umm. You can stop now Chiffon. I'm awake. What happened by the way?" Shouichi asked as Chiffon let go of his body and just stared at him with concern.

"Well you started talking in your sleep randomly and so I got really worried about you. Was it another nightmare again?" Chiffon asked her voice full of concern.

"No it wasn't. It was peace. A final gift from my past." Shouichi said as he brought up his right hand to his chest. He opened it and was surprised to find a worn out baseball inside his hand. When he recognized where it had come from tears of joy rolled down his cheeks.

"Shouichi what's wrong?" Chiffon asked.

"Nothing. It's just that this ball was one of the last things my sister left me before dying and I guess it serves to remind me that now I can finally put to rest my past." Shouichi said as he got up and placed the baseball on his table on a stand. There were words on it which read, 'The only way to go is to get stronger and move forward'.

"I see. Well then we should be getting back to sleep. It's the middle of the night after all." Chiffon said as she pat the side of the bed where she wanted Shouichi to be. He obliged and jumped back into the bed as she wrapped her arms around his body and leaned her head against his chest and fell asleep. Before long Shouichi fell asleep as well with his face pressed into Chiffon's auburn hair.

The Next Day

Shouichi woke up first as usual despite the fact that he hadn't had the most peaceful sleep after he woke up in the middle of the night. His mind had been preoccupied with the warning left by his teacher about the overlord of darkness. He skillfully escaped from Chiffon's arms and substituted himself for a bolster so that Chiffon could continue sleeping comfortably. She always got up if he didn't do that. He sat at the table and smiled as he stared at the baseball on it. Deciding that it wasn't good for him to keep thinking about the past, he went to shower and got dressed. After that he made himself a cup of tea and read through the news on his tablet while watching over his sleeping partner.

As he was browsing through the boring news, a few articles caught his eye. It was reports on a string of deaths that had occurred with half of the victims having been killed by several lacerations around their bodies and all of their bodies were seemingly twisted out of shape. The other half of the victims had been buried in the ground head first with their bodies above ground. What was even more perplexing to the case was that the bodies were all left with a number. And the number seemed to stop at 6 before it mysteriously dropped back to 1.

"Oh no. I hope this isn't what I think it is." Shouichi thought to himself. But he shrugged off his worry as he noticed that Chiffon was moving and was about to wake up. A mischievous glint could be seen in his eyes as he decided to prank his partner. He hid himself next to the bed such that he could not be seen by Chiffon.

"Morning, Shouichi. How are you today?" Chiffon asked as she got up and started rubbing her eyes sleepily. She noticed that he wasn't there next to her and got worried.

"Shouichi are you in the bathroom?" Chiffon shouted wondering just where her partner had gone.

"Boo!" Shouichi said as he jumped behind Chiffon wearing his scary clown mask.

"Ahh! A monster!" Chiffon shouted as she jumped back and burst into tears.

"Relax Chiffon. It was just me." Shouichi said as he approached the crying girl after taking off his clown mask. Probably one of his most overused tricks.

"You're such a meanie. I was so worried about you and you went and scared me like that!" Chiffon said as she punched him hard enough to send him off the bed.

"Ouch. I guess I deserve that." Shouichi said as he got up and went back up onto the bed and gave Chiffon a hug as she stopped crying.

"Don't you ever try that prank on me again. I was so scared. Sorry for hitting you by the way." Chiffon said as she leaned her head against Shouichi's shoulder.

"It's no problem. I guess I did take it a little bit far that time. Heh." Shouichi said as he brought Chiffon's face to his and placed a kiss on her lips.

"What was that about?" Chiffon asked as they broke contact from the kiss.

"My apology. Now why don't you go get ready so that we can go and have breakfast? I'm famished." Shouichi said.

"Right. Just give me some time to get ready." Chiffon said as she got off the bed and went into the bathroom.

After Chiffon got ready to go down. The two of them walked down to the cafeteria and had breakfast with the other genetics pandora after saying hello to Chiffon's sisters as well as Kazuya and Kazuha. Shouichi just laughed as Kazuya had no choice but to let himself be fed by Cassandra. Shouichi recalled one of the days where Kazuya had come back from training slightly bruised and exhausted and Cassandra had insisted that he let her take care of everything for him.

"Hey did you guys read the news about the recent string of murders?" Roxanne asked.

"Yeah. They're all pretty gruesome. Do you think that they are connected in any way?" Cassie Lockheart said.

"We can't be too sure of that yet though it is highly likely that they are connected. The victims were all killed the same way for all of the cases even though the killer used two different methods of killing." Elizabeth said as she recounted all that she remembered from her own reading on the incidences.

"Do you think it's possible that two people or two groups of people are behind this I mean after all the victims thus far have been found in two different conditions." Arnett said.

"Well whoever is behind this really must be deranged. And they seem to be killing random people. There hasn't been any connection established between any of the victims." Ticy said.

"That's true. What's more discomforting is that the murders have taken place in various parts of the world. And I am concerned as to what the numbers written in the victim's blood mean. What do you think about this case Shouichi?" Chiffon said as she turned to Shouichi to have his opinion on the matter.

"I have no idea what this is all about so leave me out of this." Shouichi said through a mouthful of fast food.

"Hey why are you eating fast food for breakfast? It's not good for you." Chiffon said as she grabbed the bag of food from Shouichi.

"Hey that's my food." Shouichi said as he tried to take the bag of food back from Chiffon but she gave him an unnerving smile that said that he shouldn't try to. He relented and left to get a tray of regular food that Chiffon would approve of.

"Wait a second, Shouichi eating fast food... And in the morning too. He definitely knows something about this and is trying to hide it." Chiffon thought to herself as he recalled her partner saying that he only ate fast food whenever he was troubled. She smiled at her partner as he sat back down at the table with a tray of normal food and returned back to stuffing his face again.

"Hey Shouichi, since your done with your food do you mind following me? I need to ask you some things in private." Chiffon said as she got up from the table and motioned for Shouichi to follow her.

"Umm sure Chiffon." Shouichi said as he got up from the table and said goodbye to everyone before following Chiffon to the roof.

"Will you look at those two lovebirds?" Roxanne commented as everyone watched the pair take their leave.

"Alright Chiffon what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Shouichi asked as he sat down on the roof floor while Chiffon was observing the ground through the metal fencing.

"Tell me what exactly is bothering you right now." Chiffon said without turning at all to face Shouichi.

"Huh, there is nothing bothering me. As you can see I am perfectly fine and happy." Shouichi replied with his usual smile.

"Don't lie to me Shouichi. You were eating fast food in the morning. Something is troubling you. Why won't you even tell me? I mean after all we are supposed to trust one another right?" Chiffon said as she faced Shouichi and frowned at him.

"Fine, fine. I'm not too sure about this yet but I have a hunch that the murderers are the two remaining Els. The El of earth and the El of wind." Shouichi said as his tone changed and he no longer had a smile on his face.

"Wait haven't you told anyone yet? If it's the Els shouldn't we be trying to stop them as soon as possible?" Chiffon asked as she sat down next to Shouichi.

"That's the problem. I can't be certain and I did not want to have the alarms raised falsely. Besides the Els aren't my key concern." Shouichi replied.

"I see. Than what is the key concern here then?" Chiffon asked.

"It's what the Els herald. If the last two Els have appeared that means that the overlord of darkness is about to make his return." Shouichi replied.

"I think we should inform Dr. Aoi about this. This is important news indeed. This could be the final battles that decide the fate of humanity." Chiffon said.

"I guess you're right let's go and see him now then." Shouichi said as he got up. Chiffon got up as well and wrapped her arm around his and leaned her head into his shoulder.

"You know Shouichi, you can always trust me and tell me anything. You don't have to hide it. We are partners and we will always be willing to listen to one another and help each other out right?" Chiffon said as she looked up at Shouichi.

"You're right. I should have just told you about my thoughts regarding the issue rather than trying to hold it all in and face it myself. Thanks Chiffon." Shouichi said as he placed a kiss on her head. The pair walked toward Dr. Aoi's office.

"Good morning father." Chiffon said as she and Shouichi walked into Dr. Aoi's office.

"Yes. Good morning Chiffon, Shouichi." Dr. Aoi said as he acknowledged their presence and gestured for them to have a seat on the couch.

"Father have you seen the recent string of murders that somehow seem to be connected to one another despite taking place in different parts of the world?" Chiffon asked as Dr. Aoi just raised an eyebrow at his daughter's question.

"Yes of course I have. Even the chevalier is concerned about this fearing that it is some sort of nova cult or something." Dr. Aoi said.

"Well Shouichi has a very interesting opinion on the matter." Chiffon said as Dr. Aoi redirected his attention to his daughters partner.

"Let's hear it then Shouichi." Dr. Aoi said.

"Well I think that this is the work of the last two remaining Els. The El of Earth and the El of wind. The type of injuries inflicted on the victims seem to resemble that of severe wind speed and force and also being killed by the ground. Also the blood number they leave behind certainly makes this theory more obvious." Shouichi said.

"I see. It does certainly match the pattern we observed from the El of water. But what does the blood number mean and why have they stopped only at 6 and then started again at one on the 7th victim?" Dr. Aoi responded.

"I think that they are doing some sort of ritual to revive the overlord of darkness. I think that the reason why they stop at 6 is because they need to make three sets of six in order to complete the ritual and bring back the overlord of darkness." Shouichi said.

"I see. This is troubling news indeed. What do you propose we do?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"The first option is to stop the Els directly but this could cause the overlord to revive as well since the Els are both his servants and his seals. The other option is to wait for them to finish the ritual and for the overlord of darkness to revive and then take the fight to him." Shouichi said.

"Would you play with such a big risk? I mean there is no guarantee that you can beat this overlord of darkness." Dr. Aoi said.

"That lies the problem. I highly doubt that we can defeat the two Els with their combined might at the same time while trying to absorb their energies as well. I think the best option would be to wait because once the Overlord of darkness is revived, the Els will lose a bulk of their power which will be returned back to the overlord. And since the overlord will have a physical form, he can't revive the Els anymore." Shouichi said.

"Then I guess we will have to go with your suggestion then. I'll have Su Na Lee beef up the training as well as have my Chevalier contacts keep an eye out for the murder spree. Now why don't you two lovebirds go have a little fun since it's still quiet?" Dr. Aoi said as he teased Chiffon who just pulled Shouichi out of the office. _Still can't get used to how close those two have become. I wonder what will happen between the two of them once all this is over. If we make it through of course._

"So what do you feel like doing to pass the time today Shouichi?" Chiffon asked as she smiled at her partner.

"I don't know Chiffon. Is there anything that you would like to do?" Shouichi asked in response as he smiled back at her.

"Hmm, oh there is this new cafe in the city that I wanted to try. Can we go there for lunch today?" Chiffon asked like an exited little schoolgirl.

"Alright then I'll take you there and then after that we can probably go and watch that new movie you've been talking about. It's an action movie right?" Shouichi asked as he pat his partner on the head to get her to calm down.

"Yup. Thanks Shouichi! It's going to be so much fun." Chiffon said as she started to excitedly spill everything about the movie.

"Whoa there. Let's not ruin the mood now shall we. Let's get going. I think I parked my motorcycle somewhere over there." Shouichi said as he placed a finger on Chiffon's mouth to silence her and stop her from revealing any juicy details about the movie. He then pulled her along to where he had parked his motorcycle and the two of them took a ride into town.

"Wow this is some really great food they have here." Shouichi said as he enjoyed the sandwich that he had ordered from the cafe.

"I know. I heard the food here was great but their coffee is just superb." Chiffon said in response.

"I wish I could tell. Not a very coffee person myself. Though their tea is pretty good too." Shouichi said as he took another bite from his sandwich.

"I knew you would enjoy the food here. I;ve been wanting to get you here since I found about this place from Ticy last week. She and Abel had come here after the annual turtle fair." Chiffon said.

"Yeah well, we'd better hurry up and finish our food and drinks so that we won't be late for the movie." Shouichi said as he finished the last bite of his sandwich before taking a long sip of his tea and finishing it as well.

"You're right. We need to hurry." Chiffon said as she quickly finished her coffee and took Shouichi by the arm and led him to the cinema to watch the movie.

"Wow that was a really cool movie! All those kung-fu moves were so cool. They were like Hiya and then they could chop through cinderblock." Chiffon said as she did some of the moves that she had seen in the movie.

"Yeah. That movie was really cool. Glad you had fun Chiffon." Shouichi said. This side of Chiffon was really cute to him. It was like she was some overly excited school kid.

"Thanks for taking me out today Shouichi. I had fun on our date." Chiffon said as she calmed herself down and walked next to Shouichi with their arms interlocked back to where his motorcycle was parked in order to return back to the base.

A week goes by.

"So as of now the total number of victims in the murder spree is at 12 people. They have killed a total of 4 people in the span of a week. This puts them at the second set of 6 people killed and means that only 6 more remains. Also the recent four killed have all had lacerations and twisted bodies. Could this mean anything Shouichi?" Dr. Aoi asked as his attention was directed toward the other two people in his office.

"I think right now only the El of wind has been out hunting but the fact that they aren't splitting the kills evenly means that something big is about to happen. I suggest keeping tabs on any odd energy spikes or dimensional fluctuations. The overlord of darkness should make his appearance soon. I think." Shouichi responded calmly.

"Right then. I'll keep closer tabs on anything that is happening and keep everyone informed. I have told Su Na Lee to step up everyone's training for everyone. Do you have any countermeasures against the Els?" Dr. Aoi asked.

"Not really. I haven't met any of these Els before but from what I know as Agito, the Els are essentially elementals. So the EL of Wind will be the fastest El but also the weakest. The El of earth will be the slowest but also the strongest. Not much help but that's all I have I'm afraid." Shouichi replied deep in thought.

"Well then thanks for everything then. I guess all we can do now is prepare ourselves for the final battle that will determine humanity's fate. The two of you can go now." Dr. Aoi said.

"Goodbye father." Chiffon said as she and Shouichi walked out of his office together.

"You still look troubled Shouichi is it about the Els and the overlord of darkness?" Chiffon asked as she noticed that her partner was in deep thought about something.

"Yeah. This is after all the period of calm before the storm. But it doesn't matter this battle is inevitable." Shouichi said as he turned to look at her.

"Fine fine. Since you're so troubled I'll let you eat as much fast food as you want so that you can calm down. I'm starting to worry about you now." Chiffon said as she looked back at him.

"Really? Yay. Let's go then I'm really hungry right now." Shouichi said as he placed a quick kiss on Chiffon's lips before dragging her along to the cafeteria.

After grabbing their food, Shouichi proceeded to stuff his face full of fast food while Chiffon just observed him carefully while eating her own food. While she would usually object to allowing him to eat so much fast food, she knew that it would help him get his mind off things and his condition was of more concern to her than him getting a little fat from eating fast food.

"You know even though I did tell you that you could eat as much fast food as you wanted, can't you at least try to eat properly?" Chiffon said as she frowned at her partner.

"Fine, fine I'll eat slower if that makes you happy." Shouichi said as he ate his food slowly and stopped trying to fill his mouth full of food.

"There you look so much better when you aren't trying to stuff yourself with food." Chiffon said as she smiled back at Shouichi.

"If you say so Chiffon. Hey do you mind playing a game of catch with me after this?" Shouichi asked as his mind drifted back to the baseball on his table. He missed the game that he had played with his sister and then his teacher.

"I don't mind at all but what's with the sudden request? And to play a sports game too. That's rare coming from you Shouichi. Is something the matter or are you just being weird after eating so much fast food?" Chiffon said with a chuckle at her partner's odd behavior.

"I just felt like reliving some of my good memories from the past." Shouichi said in response as he smiled recalling all of the good times he had spent with his family and his teacher.

After finishing their meal, the pair walked back to their room where Shouichi grabbed the worn out baseball and two baseball gloves from his wardrobe. Chiffon was surprised since she had never seen Shouichi taking them out before. She noticed that both of the gloves had words on them. One had the words 'don't stop getting stronger so long as you breathe' while the other had 'I will always be watching and cheering you on'. Chiffon knew that the words were all not written in his handwriting. Shouichi handed her one of the gloves.

"Are you sure about this Shouichi? I mean these gloves and that ball must be pretty important to you. Are you sure you want to use them?" Chiffon asked as she recognized that the writing matched the one on the ball.

"Yeah. I used to play catch with my sister. She left me these when she sent me away. They do mean a lot to me but I think that the fact that I am willing to use them with my partner shows that I have moved on. And I think my sister would be happy to know that I have moved on and have found someone for myself." Shouichi said in response as Chiffon blushed slightly. He grabbed her hand and lead her to an open field.

The pair spent some time throwing the ball around. Chiffon found this pretty boring for her but knew how much it meant to her partner and so she just continued to entertain him. Time seemed to come to a standstill for the pair as Shouichi remembered all the good times he once had. Of all the times when his childhood had been normal. He was smiling and giggling all the time as he felt happy and at peace.

"I am sorry if this is a little boring for you Chiffon." Shouichi said as he caught the ball.

"No it's okay. You've always prioritized me whenever we go out all the time so this is the least I can do. By the way, who wrote these messages for you?" Chiffon asked.

"The messages were written by my sister and left to me the night she disappeared. The next day I learnt that she had been killed. These are the last things I have to remember her by. She took care of me after our parents died and did her best to give me a normal life for as long as she could." Shouichi said as he recalled all the good times he had spent with his sister. He felt a tinge of sadness as he recalled him being left alone and then learning the next day that she had been killed.

"I see. Are you alright with using such important keepsakes like these for playing? After all they really are important to you. And your sister must mean a lot to you and these are the last things that you have to remember her by after all." Chiffon said as she caught the ball and threw it back at Shouichi.

"No. I think my sister and my parents would have been happy seeing me like this. Having a normal life is what they always wanted me to have. They just wanted me to love and be loved. They never wished for me to be given such a heavy burden." Shouichi said as he caught the ball.

"I see. Well then let's just enjoy ourselves then shall we. Hey what's with the sudden fastball?" Chiffon said as she caught the ball this time noticing that he had thrown it harder than before.

"Oh sorry about this wanted to make this a little bit more interesting." Shouichi said with a chuckle.

"You could have at least warned me first." Chiffon said with an annoyed huff.

"Hey aren't you supposed to be a legendary pandora ms. monster? I thought that wouldn't have been a problem for you although I shouldn't be surprised given how you broke down and cried when I scared you the last time. Boy was that hilarious. I should have taken a video and showed it to your friends." Shouichi said.

"Why you. Why don't you try this on for size." Chiffon said angrily as she threw the ball back at him. But she underestimated her strength and ended throwing the ball so fast that Shouichi couldn't catch it. The ball ended up hitting his head and knocked him out as he felt his head hurt and his world go black.

"Oh my gosh. Shouichi are you alright? I am so sorry. I was a little angry." Chiffon said as she rushed over to her partner who was unconscious and had a sizeable bump on his head. She helped him get to the medical centre to have his head checked to make sure that nothing was damaged. She made sure to bring along his things as well.

The Next Day.

"Wow, my head feels like I just ran into a truck or something. Where am I?" Shouichi said as he stirred and began to survey his surroundings. He realized that he was back in his room.

"Hmm, that's interesting I wonder how I ended up back here. I remember playing catch with Chiffon and then nothing." Shouichi said as he turned to look for his partner. He saw her lying down next to him and woke her up by running his hand through her hair.

"Shouichi, you're awake." Chiffon said startled as she pressed her fingers together awkwardly.

"Morning Chiffon. What happened? All I remember is playing catch with you and then nothing." Shouichi said.

"Umm... about that. I am really sorry that I threw the ball at you so hard that you got knocked unconscious." Chiffon said as she gave an apologetic look to her partner.

"Oh so that's what happened. Oh that's right. I teased you then you got angry and threw a really fast ball at me. I should be the one apologizing for teasing you like that. Heh not really. You're just so cute when you are flustered. That's why I can't help but tease you." Shouichi said as he reached out and gave his partner a hug.

"Hmph. You're so mean." Chiffon replied in a huff but enjoyed the intimidate physical contact with Shouichi.

"Has there been any interesting developments with regards to the murder spree?" Shouichi asked as Chiffon calm demeanor changed.

"Yes there has been a spike in the number of murders while you were knocked out. There are now a total of 15 victims and as you predicted the blood number runs till six before going back down to one and starting again." Chiffon said as she brought up the update on her tablet and handed it to Shouichi who glanced through the information.

"I see that means that my hunch of the 666 ritual in order to revive the overlord is probably true then. But there is no point in worrying ourselves with that now. What do you say we grab a bite to eat?" Shouichi said as he got up from the bed.

"Are you sure you can move fine on your own Shouichi? You did just wake up after all." Chiffon said as she got off the bed and was prepared to rush to her partner's aid if he needed it.

"Nah. I'm fine Chiffon. My head hurts a little but besides that its fine." Shouichi said and he went into the bathroom to get ready to go for breakfast.

After the pair finished getting ready, they headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast. They were surprised to see that it was mostly empty. Shouichi asked Chiffon why the cafeteria was empty today and she told him to look at the time. He realized that the two of them had overslept and it was now nearing 10am. Everyone would have gone to do their own things or gone for training. Chiffon and Shouichi sat together to enjoy their late breakfast while planning what to do for the day.

"Hey Chiffon why don't we train a little today?" Shouichi suggested as he took a spoonful of food into his mouth.

"Wait what did you just say? Is that really you? Don't tell me you suffered some sort of brain trauma from that hit I gave you." Chiffon said both with concern and disbelief. Shouichi was the last person one would ever think to suggest training and here he was doing exactly that.

"Relax Chiffon. You heard me right. I want to go train a little today. And don't worry this is really me saying that here." Shouichi replied to alleviate Chiffon's worry.

"Why all of a sudden though? You've always been running away every time we had to train or whenever I suggested training." Chiffon asked again still a little doubtful that Shouichi was serious.

"Because I want to make sure the two of us are as prepared as we can be to face the overlord. He is coming back soon. I want us to be ready so that we can protect everyone. More importantly so that we can protect one another." Shouichi said.

"Alright then we can go train after finishing our breakfast." Chiffon said as Shouichi smiled at her and went back to eating.

After they were done with their breakfast, the pair headed over to the simulation centre where they went and used one of the available rooms for training. They discussed what they wanted to do during the simulation and Shouichi said that he wanted to work on their combination attacks. He said he wanted to refine the skills they used to bring down the El of water and said that they would be handy in fighting not only the remaining Els but that they would also come in handy when the time came to face the overlord. They trained against a wide variety of opponents but mostly against N3 nova. That was the strongest enemy that had been programmed into the system. Aside from perfecting their offensive and defensive strategies, the pair also created combination attacks that would help to cover the weak spots in their individual attacks.

They had been training all the way till they were both satisfied with their progress. When they looked at the time they saw that it was already one o'clock. The pair headed back to their room together to freshen up before heading for lunch together. They joined with Chiffon's sisters, Kazuha, Kazuya, Rana and Satellizer for lunch. They had a chat on how team 13 was doing and also what Kazuha and the other legendary pandora had been up to while everyone else was busy training. Everyone at the table was shocked that Chiffon and Shouichi had been training. Even Kazuha got so shocked that she almost spat out her food. The normally stoic Teslad stared at him before turning her gaze back to her niece and nephew.

"Hey what's with that look that everyone is giving me? Is it that surprising that I actually did some proper training today with Chiffon?" Shouichi asked as he put down the fork.

"Shouichi-sempai are you sure you are not feeling unwell?" Kazuya asked.

"I heard you were knocked out yesterday by accident by Chiffon are you sure you didn't suffer any mental trauma?" Satellizer asked. Kazuha just burst into laughter.

"Seriously I train properly once and everyone acts like I have brain damage or something. The next thing I know is that you guys have me strapped on a table interrogating me to see if someone switched places with me or something." Shouichi said in jest. He noticed the others giving him an odd stare and realized that they were considering doing that to him. Just as he was about to defend himself, Chiffon came to his defense.

"Relax. I can assure you Shouichi is fine. I was the one who suggested training and was adamant on him attending." Chiffon said as everyone dropped all their allegations and theories on what had happened to Shouichi.

"I see. But how did you manage to convince that lazy bum to train?" Kazuha asked.

"Hey I heard that and have feelings too you know." Shouichi interjected feeling hurt by Kazuha's comment.

"Oh you know how convincing I can be." Chiffon replied cheerfully but everyone knew exactly what she meant by that.

After that everyone returned back to eating regularly as they didn't prod further into Shouichi's sudden change in mindset. As soon as everyone was done with lunch, Kazuya, Rana and Satellizer left to resume their training while Kazuha and her four aunts went to have some fun braiding each other's hair. Chiffon was a little jealous since her hair was too short too braid but she wasn't going to join them anyway since Shouichi said he had a surprise for her.

"Umm.. where are we going Shouichi? And do I have to be blindfolded for this?" Chiffon asked as her partner lead her to some undisclosed location.

"It's a secret and I don't want my surprise to be spoiled/ Just relax. We are almost there." Shouichi said as he continued to lead his partner toward their destination.

"Fine. But can't you at least tell me where we are going? You left me alone in the room earlier and came back asking me to follow you with a blindfold on." Chiffon said.

"Relax Chiffon. We're here already. You can take off the blindfold now." Shouichi said as he let go of Chiffon's hand and she took of her blindfold.

"So what's the surprise Shouichi? Aww. It's beautiful Shouichi." Chiffon said as she looked at where her partner had brought her. He had taken her out to the spot where they had their first ever picnic together and he had set up everything nicely on the picnic mat.

"Well I felt like being a little sentimental so I thought that we should come back to the place where we had our first date. So what do you think Chiffon?" Shouichi said as the pair sat down on the picnic mat and began to enjoy the food.

"I like the surprise very much Shouichi." Chiffon said as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Hehe besides all the usual food, I got a cake too for us to enjoy. All this time spent with you has really been wonderful Chiffon. I wouldn't want to change it for anything else. Even if it meant that I could erase my pained past. My experiences with you has more than made up for it. Thanks for everything Chiffon." Shouichi said as he opened a box containing a chiffon cake. Then he gave his partner a hug.

"I've enjoyed all the time we've spent together as well." Chiffon said as she reciprocated the hug to her partner.

"I've been wanting to give you this." Shouichi said as he opened a little box that contained a locket.

"What's this Shouichi?" Chiffon asked as she took the locket from him.

"It was the locket that belonged to my mother then my sister. She left for me saying that when the time comes I should pass it on to the person I care most about. And I believe that's you Chiffon" Shouichi said.

"I'm so touched Shouichi. But are you sure you don't want to keep it?" Chiffon asked.

"No. I'm sure my sister would be glad to know that I have moved on and found someone for myself." Shouichi said.

"Alright then I'll keep it Shouichi. Thanks for always being by my side Shouichi and for always taking care of me." Chiffon said as she kept the locket and gave her partner a hug once more.

"You're welcome Chiffon. We will always be partners who look out for once another." Shouichi said as he gave Chiffon as kiss. Then he swept her off her feet and the pair went back to their room as Chiffon just leaned into him with a smile.

When they reached the room, Shouichi placed Chiffon on the bed and snuggled next to her as he trailed kisses down her neck. His hands trailed her body exploring her delightful figure as he felt her shudder under his touch. He gave her a passionate kiss as his tongue requested entrance to her mouth and she allowed it. His hands continued exploring her body making her shake in pleasure. He broke contacted and stared lovingly at her.

"So my dear Chiffon would like to have a little fun?" Shouichi asked as he got off her.

"I'm always willing to have fun with my partner." Chiffon replied as she disengaged her volt texture uniform. Shouichi undressed as well and he continued caressing Chiffon's body while trailing kisses down her neck before finally taking one of Chiffon's nipples in his mouth making her let out a loud moan.

He continued his teasing as Chiffon felt her underwear getting more damp by the minute. Suddenly she felt his hand roam down to her special spot where he started rubbing her and causing her to feel more pleasure as more of her juices flowed out.

"Chiffon, do you really want me so badly? You're so wet down here already." Shouichi said as two of his fingers entered her and he made feel even more pleasure.

"It's because you know exactly how to make me feel good. Now why don't you let me repay the favor?" Chiffon said with a sweet smile as Shouichi removed his fingers from her and lay on his back and pulled off his underwear revealing his stiff member to her.

She immediately went to work giving her partner a hand job as she started to lick his scrotum. The she licked his hard member before finally taking his entire length down her mouth. The feeling was incredible as she bobbed her head up and down while licking his member with her tongue. Before long he couldn't stop himself and came, shooting a load of his hot semen down her throat and she gladly drank every drop of it.

"I think I'll take the lead this time." Chiffon said as she straddled her partner. She used her hand to guide his stiff member into her wet pussy and she leaned down to him for a kiss. She started moving her hips causing his stiff member to move inside of her sending waves of pleasure throughout her being. Both of their moans were getting progressively louder. Shouichi kept playing with Chiffon's breasts and licking her nipples causing her to moan louder. As the two of them were about to reach their climax, Shouichi pulled Chiffon in for a deep kiss as he shot his load into her.

"Good night Chiffon. I hope you enjoyed my little surprise today." Shouichi said as he hugged Chiffon from behind and nestled his face in her hair before drifting off to sleep.

"I did enjoy the day. Thanks for everything Shouichi." Chiffon said as she too went to sleep.

The Next Day

The alarm was sounded throughout the base early the next day. Everyone rushed to the briefing room to see what was the cause of the alarm. Chiffon and Shouichi were both awoken by the alarm and wondered just what it could be.

"Shouichi do you think it's the Els or?" Chiffon asked as she got ready.

"I'm not sure. I guess we will find out soon enough. Why don't you head over there first? I'll join you shortly." Shouichi said as he was running around the room getting ready.

"I'll go ahead first then. Don't take too long." Chiffon said as she left the room to go for the briefing.

"Right." Shouichi said as he finished getting ready. Just as he was about to leave, he looked at the baseball on his table. _I guess this is it huh. This is the final battle that will decide humanity's fate. I don't care what happens to me so long as I can protect everyone. Watch over me, Father, Mother, Sister, Makoto-sensei. I will fulfill my duty as Agito. _Shouichi ran off to catch up with Chiffon.

At the briefing room, everyone was already there and split into their individual platoons. Chiffon and Shouichi said hello to everyone before turning their attention to Dr. Aoi who addressed everyone there.

"This morning at 4am, I received a notification that there had been a large unknown energy spike of unknown origin from the chevalier. They sent two teams to investigate. None of which made it back. This was all that was retrieved from the two teams before their comms went dead." Dr. Aoi said as he showed video of a mysterious energy ball that was being guarded by two humanoid figures.

"What are those things grandfather?" Kazuha asked both out of curiosity and fear.

"Those are the two remaining Els. The El of wind and the El of earth and that energy sphere I presume is the overlord of darkness." Shouichi said as everyone turned to look at him.

"Shouichi would you mind telling everyone what you know?" Dr. Aoi said as he sat down and relaxed into his chair.

"Those two are the last of the four guardians of the overlord. The murder spree is most likely their doing as well. Similar to the El of water, their strengths and weaknesses lie in the fundamentals of their elements. The El of wind will be the fastest but also the weakest. The El of earth will be the slowest but also the strongest." Shouichi said as he told everyone what he knew about the overlord, his revival and the remaining Els.

"We need to act fast then and destroy the Els before the overlord revives." Su Na Lee said.

"Yes. Exactly why all of you will be deployed to quickly destroy the two Els. Shouichi will give battle advice to the field commanders. The valkyries are to stay behind for emergency deployment." Dr. Aoi said.

"But why? Don't you think that we can match the pandora?" Ouka, the leader of the valkyries asked angrily.

"It's not about power it's about operational time. If the battle drags longer than your injection stigmata the four of you would be burdens to the rest. Besides in case everyone else fails the four of you will be the last line of defense. You have your orders now go. For the sake of humanity's future." Dr. Aoi said.

Everyone boarded their assigned choppers that would take them to the location of the Els. Everyone was jittery with the exception of the usually stoic legendary pandora and the ever cheery Windy May. Facing one El was tough enough but now they had two to fight at the same time and they had to be prepared to face their creator as well.

"Alright everyone listen up, we are splitting into two teams to take down the Els. This will be the tactic for dealing with them. For the El of wind, all long range and high speed pandora are to confine and restrict its movements so that the heavy hitters can finish it off. For the El of Earth, target all attacks on a single spot to break through its shell." Shouichi said as he divided the group into teams. He and Chiffon were tasked with dealing with the El of Earth. Windy May and Lucy were assigned to deal with the El of Wind together with platoon thirteen, Elizabeth and Arnett. Cassandra, Teslad and everyone else was assigned to deal with the El of earth.

The helicopters landed some distance away from the actual location as per Shouichi's request since it was highly possible that the El of Wind might have set-up a wind barrier around the area. The group carefully approached the area where the Els were supposed to be and were surprised when they could see nothing there.

"There isn't anything here." Roxanne said in disbelief.

"That's what they want you to think." Shouichi who was already in his shining form said. He picked up a twig form the ground and casually threw it forward. Everyone was shocked when the twig disintegrated in mid air.

"What just happened Shouichi?" Chiffon asked.

"There is a barrier around this whole area that prevents anyone from getting in or from prying eyes as well." Shouichi said as he stood before the invisible barrier and concentrated to feel for any weak spots in it. He summoned his twin shining caliber and charged them both with energy and delivered one mighty stroke to the barrier as the landscape in front of them seemed to shatter like glass. As the barrier dissipated, everyone was shocked by the gruesome scene. The two chevalier pandora teams were there in front of them. All of them were dead and their bodies were all maimed or disfigured. This disgusting spectacle was not unlike what the El of Water did. In the centre of the clearing they saw the two Els standing guard over the sphere of energy.

"Get ready, here they come!" Shouichi shouted as everyone prepared to face the two Els. The El of wind attacked first as it disappeared from sight and charged straight for everyone. Shouichi jumped in and block the first strike. He parried the El of winds attacks easily thanks to his heightened senses but couldn't land any hits as the El retreated to safety. He failed to notice the lumbering El of earth since he was so preoccupied with the El of Wind. Chiffon jumped in to save him, her shields barely holding against the brute force of the El of earth. Cassandra fired a particle beam at the El of earth sending it a good distance back although it was unharmed despite having taken the brunt of the attack.

The group split up into two teams and took on their assigned El. Both teams struggled with the individual challenges of their assigned El. The team assigned to fight the El of Earth was having trouble doing any actual damage to the creature. Nothing seemed to be able to faze the creature as it just continued its lumbering attacks. The team assigned to fight the El of Wind was having its own set of problems. The creature was moving so quickly that none of their attacks could hit it. All the while Shouichi monitored the situation while making sure to keep an eye on the condition of the energy sphere.

Shouichi blocked one of the El of earth's attacks with his blade as Chiffon and Teslad attacked the creature from its sides. Neither of their attacks managed to faze the creature though as it just kept its attention solely focused on Shouichi. Shouichi felt the force behind each of the El of earth's attacks as he met each one blow for blow with his shining caliber. Using this opportunity, Cassandra fired a particle beam again at the El of Earth this time managing to make the creature double back from the force of the blast.

The other team was facing a similar situation with the El of Wind. They relied on Lucy to stop the El's attacks while everyone else confined the El in a small area allowing Windy May to deal a mighty blow to the El of wind using her mighty war hammer. The El of wind seemed to be in much worse condition as compared to the El of earth though as it was already limping from that single blow. For a moment it seemed like they were going to be able to win the battle. But then Shouichi realized that the Els were actually getting weaker. He turned to take a look at the energy sphere again and realized what was happening.

"Oh no. We have to beat the Els quickly. The overlord of darkness is about to revive!" Shouichi shouted as he charged straight at the El of earth with his shining caliber and delivered a swift flurry of slashes. His attack only managed to cause the El to drop to one knee but not destroy the creature. He jumped backwards to take full stock of their current situation. They had to find some way to defeat the Els and fast. He ordered the team fighting the El of wind to create another opening for Windy May to smash the creature.

Then he turned his attention back to the El of earth who had already recovered from its injuries. Shouichi thought of the best option to quickly deal with the El of Earth. True the creature was tough but it seemed to weaken exponentially every time they attacked. However it could also recover from its injuries quickly. Then an idea dawned on Shouichi as he ordered everyone facing the El to do a combined assault on the creature to destroy it.

Shouichi started his attack first. Delivering a powerful energy wave from his shining caliber. Ticy went up next right behind his own attack as she delivered a swift cut to the El of earth. Then Teslad charged in with her tonfas and generated a powerful shockwave causing the El to grunt in pain. Shouichi charged in again this time delivering a shining punch to the El and causing its armor to crack. Chiffon caused further damage to the El as she used her clawed gauntlets to rip an even bigger hole in the Els tough armor. Shouichi followed this up with a shining kick causing the El of earth's armor to be completely broken. Cassandra fired her particle beam at the creature, turning it completely to ash.

They regrouped and looked on as the team that dealt with the El of wind was able to create the necessary opening for Windy May to deliver the finishing blow to the creature. They watched as Windy May delivered a mighty blow to the creature smashing it into the ground. The two teams regrouped and approached the energy sphere which was now glowing brighter and pulsating with caution.

"Be prepared. The overlord of darkness is returning. This is our final battle for humanity's sake." Shouichi said as everyone had their weapons ready to face whatever this overlord of darkness was.

The floating sphere landed on the ground as it continued to pulsate and glow brighter. Eventually the glow got so bright that everyone was forced to shield their eyes. The energy sphere spread out as the glow began to dissipate. In the centre of the expanded sphere stood the overlord of darkness. Everyone was shocked by his appearance. He looked like a regular human. In fact he closely resembled an older version of Shouichi with the exception that he wore a fully black ensemble.

"That's the overlord of darkness? He looks just like an ordinary human to me." Roxanne said as she prepared herself to charge straight at the man.

"Don't do anything foolish Roxanne. That is most definitely the overlord of darkness and do not let his appearance fool you. He is stronger than any of the Els. And do not step near that field. It's an absolute field. Step in there and you will end up helpless." Shouichi said as he raised a hand to stop Roxanne from acting impulsively.

"So this is who the humans have chosen to oppose me? And this is the mighty Agito that my brother left behind to try and stop me? This is amusing. Why don't you come up here and challenge me Agito? Challenge me for humanity's future and its right to freedom. Or are you still just a scared little boy behind that mask of yours?" The overlord of darkness said as he challenged Shouichi to a duel.

"I will defeat you for the sake of humanity." Shouichi responded as he began walking toward the expanded sphere.

"Very well then come and try. You humans are foolish creatures who seek nothing but darkness thinking that it's the light. That is why I will always win." the overlord of darkness said.

"That is your limit. Humans have the potential to evolve to change and become better. Your failure to see that it is not my power as Agito but my resolve as a human is what you should fear will bring your end." Shouichi said.

"Very well then come and challenge me. Agito!" the overlord said.

"Are you intending to challenge him alone?" Satellizer asked.

"No, I'm never alone anymore." Shouichi responded as everyone noticed that Chiffon was walking with him toward the sphere as well. The two of them stepped inside the sphere and readied themselves to face the overlord.

"We should help them too!" Roxanne said as she tried to enter the area covered by the sphere but was unable to do so. She looked around to see that everyone else could not enter the field as well.

"It doesn't matter Agito even your combined strength with your partner will not be able to defeat me." the overlord of darkness said.

"We shall see about that." Shouichi replied.

The overlord just stood still as both Shouichi and Chiffon charged straight at him. They thought that they would be able to finish the battle quickly but were surprised when the overlord just stopped their attacks by raising his hands out and using some form of dark energy to stop both of their strikes. The two of them created some distance between them as they tried to rationalize and estimate the overlords abilities.

The pair tried to do another combined attack as they both charged simultaneously at the overlord. This time both of them decided to try a frontal approach. Shouichi charged in first using his twin shining caliber in a flurry of slashes to try and overwhelm the overlord. Chiffon used her illusion turn to get behind the overlord in an attempt to blindside him but their attack still resulted in nothing as they were both pushed back with ease by the overlord.

"Is this the best you can offer Agito? This is pathetic. You have no hope of wrestling humanity's fate from my grasp with power like this. Where is this power of humanity that you were boasting about?" The overlord of darkness said as he floated toward the pair who readied themselves to defend from his attack.

"I will defeat you. Humanity will be free. Let's do this Chiffon." Shouichi said as he charged again at the overlord with Chiffon following behind him. This time the overlord was shocked when Chiffon used her shields to cover Shouichi from the overlords attack as she attacked from behind. Shouichi threw his two blades such that they would attack the overlord from his sides. Chiffon uncovered her shields as Shouichi delivered a flurry of punches and kicks at the overlord. Their attack this time proving successful as the overlord was pushed back. The pair readied themselves for attack again.

"This is interesting this power of yours. I see that Agito gets stronger when empowered by people." the overlord remarked as he dodged Shouichi's incoming attack.

"Chiffon, you might have to activate your nova form in this fight." Shouichi said to Chiffon as she acknowledged that the overlord was powerful. Chiffon activated her nova form as her shield plates bolted to her back creating six wing-like structures.

"Come and show me this power of yours. See if you can give humanity a new future." the overlord said as Shouichi charged straight at him with his shining caliber in hand. The overlord was surprised by how much faster Agito was moving now and he was also surprised that Chiffon had changed from fighting at close range to firing multiple particle beams at him. He still manage to block their attacks with dark energy.

The exchange continued for multiple times as the overlord still seemed to always have a leg up over both Shouichi and Chiffon despite the two of them drawing on more of their power. Everyone watching the battle were surprised by how strong Chiffon and Shouichi were and how well they were working together. Despite their best efforts, they were barely able to hurt the overlord of darkness and the hard fight was starting to take its toll on the both of them as they were starting to feel exhausted.

"You fought a good fight Agito. But it looks like this is you and your partners limits. I know that the reason why your partner can move around inside my field is because you are shielding her with your energy. Every time she attacks it takes a toll on you as well. You should have just fought me on your own." the overlord said to the two exhausted combatants.

"No we are partners and we will face everything together. We are not done yet." Shouichi protested as he readied himself to face the overlord despite feeling exhausted from both maintaining the shield around Chiffon and fighting the overlord at the same time.

"I see. We'll then I guess I shall send both of you to the afterlife together then." The overlord said as dark energy built up in his hand. He opened his hand and pointed it at the pair and released black lighting which hit both of them.

"Are you alright Chiffon?" Shouichi asked as he recovered from the attack barely able to stand.

"I'm fine. You should worry more about yourself." Chiffon said as she emerged from the attack mostly unharmed.

"I'm not letting you harm anyone, overlord." Shouichi shouted as he charged forward for the overlord with his blades poised to strike. The overlord just stood there as he approached. Just as Shouichi was about to land the attack, the overlord struck him with black lightning and he fell to the ground.

"Shouichi!" Chiffon shouted as she fired particle beams at the overlord to try and get him away from her partner. She used her illusion turn and particle beams to combat the overlord.

"You're in my way. So I'll end you first. Don't worry your partner will be joining you shortly and he gets to watch you die." the overlord said as he hit Chiffon with black lightning and stopped her from moving. She shouted in pain causing Shouichi to get up. The overlord raised his hand to deal the finishing blow to Chiffon but Shouichi jumped in at the last moment to protect her. He hobbled around to face the overlord after his back bore the brunt of the attack.

"You will not harm my partner or my friends." Shouichi shouted as he made a mad dash for the overlord. The overlord materialized a dark energy blade and stood ready to defend against the coming strike. In Agito's weakened state, the overlord easily cut him down as a large gash was seen in Shouichi's chest armor and he fell to the ground.

"Shouichi! No please don't you can't die!" Chiffon shouted as she tried to move but she couldn't.

"Well then I guess this is the end of your hope for humanity. Now you die Agito!" The overlord said as he brought down his blade once more to deal the finishing blow. But in the last moments a ball like object came from the sky to protect Shouichi and enveloped the area in a bright light.

"Shouichi. Shouichi." A voice called out.

"Huh, a voice? where am I?" Shouichi said as he got up surrounded by light.

"Shouichi." The voice called out as two figures appeared.

"Makoto-sensei, nee-san!" Shouichi said as he recognized the two figures.

"We will always be watching over you. When your need is greatest, we shall be there. Now get up Shouichi. Reach out and save the world. It is you destiny. We leave you with a gift." Makoto said with a smile. Shouichi's sister just remained quiet and gave him a reassuring nod and smile.

The light faded as Shouichi stood up now his injuries all healed. There was a bright sphere next to him. Everyone was surprised that he was still able to stand despite the amount of damage he had taken. The overlord was shaken slightly by this development.

"What is this what trickery is this?" The overlord asked Shouichi who calmly walked toward Chiffon. He placed a hand on Chiffon and freed her to move. He told her to stay still and that he would be taking care of things now. Chiffon returned back to normal and watched her partner walk towards the overlord.

"No trickery, just your downfall." Shouichi said as he looked up at the overlord while reaching out his hand to the glowing sphere. His body started glowing brighter and brighter as the sphere disappeared.

"We shall see about that. Don't get cocky human. I don't know how you can still stand but this time you will perish." the overlord said as he fired black lightning at Shouichi who just shrugged it off like nothing much to everyone's shock. Then Shouichi raised his hand up and fired a beam at the overlord who was barely able to defend against it.

"What is this. Where are you drawing this power from?" The overlord asked in disbelief.

"This is the power of everyone. This is the power of will. The light of the human hearts. The power that the overlord of light knew would bring about your end once more." Shouichi said as the overlord of darkness tried to attack him with energy blasts but he easily shrugged off the attacks with his hands.

Shouichi charged at the overlord of darkness with a speed and swiftness beyond what had ever been displayed before. He materialized a sword made up light energy and cut the overlord of darkness causing him to bleed before giving him a swift punch to send him to the ground.

"Don't think that you have won this yet human. I still hold humanity's fat in my hands. Now enjoy it's destruction." The overlord of darkness said as he floated upwards and dark energy started to surround him.

"Oh now you don't humanity will be free." Shouichi said as he brought both of his hands to his chest. The bright glow from his body concentrated into his fists as the crystal in his chest started glowing. He raised his hands towards the overlord and fired a large beam of pure light energy at the overlord of darkness.

"No this is not possible! I cannot be beaten not by a human!" the overlord shouted in disbelief as his body started to break down until he became a sphere of pure energy.

Shouichi focused and pulled in energies from everywhere and concentrated them at his feet. He knew this had to be done. He had to fuse with the overlord of darkness in order to seal him away for good once more. His only wish was that he could have stayed with Chiffon. He turned to look at Chiffon one last time before delivering a flying kick at the energy sphere and combining with it. The black sphere turned white as it rained down energy that healed everyone.

"We did it we won." Roxanne said as the absolute field disappeared and everyone approached the crying the Chiffon.

"But the cost of this battle..." Satellizer said as everyone stood some distance from the grieving Chiffon.

"Shouichi... you promised me that we would stay together. You promised that we would look after one another. So why... Why did you leave me." Chiffon cried as she felt abandoned by her partner.

"Come on Chiffon. I don't think that Shouichi would have wanted you to grieve like this. He always wanted you to be safe and happy. Seeing you sad like this now would be a waste of his sacrifice." Ticy said trying to comfort her good friend.

"Shouichi would want you to always be smiling wouldn't he?" Satellizer said as she tried to comfort her senior.

But Chiffon just couldn't stop crying. Her thoughts flashed to all the hardships that they had face together. All the challenges that they had faced together. All the times they came to each other's aid. All the wonderful memories and times they spent together. All of his teasing and that smile that always told everyone that he cared. That would all be a memory now for Chiffon. She failed to notice the white ball of energy approaching her. A part of it broke off and landed in her open hands as Shouichi's body reappeared in her arms. She gripped her partner tightly as she pulled him into her chest.

"Take good care of him for all of us please. He deserves it after everything he has gone through." A voice spoke from within the white energy sphere which was now floating over the two of them.

"I will. Thank you for returning my precious partner to me." Chiffon said as she recognized figures within the energy sphere.

"Chiffon..." Shouichi said as he opened his eyes.

"Shouichi." Chiffon shouted in glee at her partner's return as she hugged him even tighter. Shouichi turned to look at the energy sphere.

"Mother, Father, Sister, Makoto-sensei, I guess this is the final goodbye huh." Shouichi said to the energy sphere.

"Enjoy your normal life with those you love now Shouichi. There is no longer a need for you to feel any more pain. You have new people to love you now. We need to go now. But never forget us but never let us hold you back either we will always be watching over you from beyond. Chiffon take good care of him for us please. That is our only request." The energy sphere said before it flew into the sky without a trace.

"Chiffon, I love you and I will always be by your side." Shouichi said as he hugged Chiffon tightly, never wanting to be separated from her ever again.

"I love you too Shouichi. And I will never leave you either." Chiffon said as the two of them kissed.

"Alright both of you break it up. Let's get back to the base then you both can continue your smooching in private." Roxanne said as everyone was brought back to reality and the two lovers were blushing heavily. Everyone moved to the awaiting helicopters that would take them back to the base, the war now finally over.

Two months later.

Shouichi woke up with a smile as he looked to see his still sleeping partner and her angelic features. He ran his hand through her hair as she began to stir. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips before getting out of the bed to make himself a cup of tea. He opened up the news on the tablet which was an update on the current progress of the world in the aftermath of the nova war. With the overlord of darkness defeated, humanity's war with the nova had come to an end. Dr. Aoi had been the one to spearhead post war recovery efforts.

The first thing that he did with the Chevalier was to have the pandora project shut down and all stigmata taken out of their hosts and destroyed. This was in the effort to ensure that the pandora could return to their normal lives and also so that no one could take advantage and use the pandora as weapons. After all they were all still human. In addition, Chevalier was now also in charge of recovery efforts and also helped to rebuild the things that were broken during the war. Humanity's long war with the nova still left many deep wounds and lasting scars that might never go away. Even for Shouichi there would be changes. He had lost all of his powers as Agito and was now back to being a regular human being. Even machine tornador which had been a part of agito disappeared without a trace and was replaced by a regular motorcycle.

"Shouichi, let's go down for breakfast. I think everyone else should be awake as well." Chiffon said as she walked up to her partner and gave him a hug which pulled his thoughts back to reality.

"Oh yeah I'm sure everyone is awake and I think Su Na Lee has breakfast ready." Shouichi replied. He was now living with the Aois in Dr. Aoi's private villa. He and Chiffon shared a room together and Su Na Lee oddly enough is like the caretaker/ mother figure of the house aside from Cassandra. The other legendary pandora live here and so do Kazuya and Kazuha. The pair made their way downstairs to the breakfast table where everyone else was already seated.

Everyone enjoyed the usual breakfast that had been prepared by Su Na Lee and Cassandra. Cassandra really behaved like a mother in the house but that was probably because she wanted to look after Kazuha and Kazuya. Especially Kazuya since he is like a son to her. Dr. Aoi was at the end of the table reading a newspaper. Suddenly Chiffon felt nauseas and left for the bathroom as Dr. Aoi raised an eyebrow at this. She returned soon after.

"Are you alright Chiffon? This isn't the first time you've been sick in the morning and you've been pretty tired lately." Shouichi asked concerned about his partner's wellbeing.

"I'm fine. Umm... I have some news for you father, Shouichi too. My period has been late and I think I might be pregnant." Chiffon said with a smile. Shouichi soul comically left his body as he worried about all the backlash he would be receiving from Dr. Aoi about getting his daughter pregnant. Everyone else around the table was shocked by this news with the exception of Teslad, Windy May and Cassandra.

"Shouichi, I will have words for you. But after I give Chiffon a full medical check. Chiffon you should have told me this sooner." Dr. Aoi said as his words shifted from anger to joy.

"I wanted to make it a surprise for everyone. Hey Shouichi are you alright? Hey Shouichi?" Chiffon said as she shook her unconscious partner. Shouichi was still in shock as his mind thought of how he would face his future now. But a smile was seen on his face as his thoughts drifted to how proud his dead family must feel because now he had a soul mate and a child to care for.

**A/N: That's the end of this fanfic guys. Thanks for all your support. I purposely ended the story here because I wanted to leave the future up to you guys to imagine. Hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I have righting this. I will focus more on improving my Kabuto fanfic now and hope to bring it close to this level somehow. **

**Teaser: One more new fanfic coming out sometime in the near future. Based on Man and set in the freezing universe.**

**The millennium earl creates the black knights. Humans bonded to stigmatic weapons using sorcery. How will his creations work with the pandora project when the newest one, Allen Walker is sent to join West Genetics? **


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